At the time no. But things have really changed. That said, my family lived through the Mao era and the Cultural Revolution, etc. Terrible things can happen but the rule of thumb for China, in my opinion, is that China (and probably any other authoritarian country) does not tolerate another nexus of power. Reading censor material is not so bad. Disseminating it will get you in trouble. Trying to speak out against the government and disseminate that opinion will get you disappeared. For example, Catholicism was banned in China for a long time until the Pope made a deal that gave the government a voice in the appointment of bishops. What made Catholicism problematic is that there is another authority figure in Rome. Buddhism, in the form commonly practiced in China, has no such figure which is why it was tolerated and sometimes even promoted (with a very nationalist slant). Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, has an authority figure not controlled by China. You get the idea...

No. Reading censored foreign media doesn't get you in trouble, and it's extremely widespread. Posting anti-government opinions is what gets you in trouble.

It is less about bypassing the censorship, more about what are you trying to do bypassing the censorship. I don't think you will have any problem reading stuff. Transferring information may cause you big trouble. As individual, I do not think you should worry about it at all.