"anyone who comes across unhealthy online stories can file a report"

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Monday September 26, 2005 13:24 by iosaf

"send your kids to jail"

Its the Chinese and the internet again.

The Chinese love the internet, their state doesn't.
& in the last days their state has updated its rules and regulations on internet use and made quite a list of transgressions. They are also asking the public to help information departments at all levels to supervise news sites & report them if the stories are unhealthy. "A new regulation on online news services was issued jointly on Sunday by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and the Ministry of Information Industry. Under this regulation, online news sites that publish fabricated content, pornography or violence face severe punishment or even closure."

Here are the guidelines & rules :

According to the Temporary Regulation of Internet Publishing Management, the following contents are prohibited in Internet publishing:

1. Information that goes against the basic principles set out in the Constitution;

2. Information that endangers national unification, sovereignty and territorial integrity;

3. Information that divulges state secrets, endangers national security, or is detrimental to the honor and interests of the State;

4. Information that incites hatred or discrimination among nationalities, harms the unity of the nationalities or destroys the customs of nationalities;

5. Information that preaches the teachings of evil cults or that promotes feudalistic and superstitious beliefs;

6. Information that disseminates rumors, disturbs social order, or undermines social stability;

7. Information that spreads pornography; promotes gambling, violence, or instigates crimes;

8. Information that insults or slanders other people, or infringes upon other people's legitimate rights and interests;

9. Information that endangers social morality or national cultures and traditions; and/or

10. Any other information as prohibited by law, administrative regulations, or national regulations.

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The group Reporters without Borders have prepared a guide to blogging for cyber-dissidents
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542

They've been calling for attention to a variety of Chinese journalists and most recently one Cyber activist Zhang Lin detained since January 29, who began a hungerstrike on September 1.

Zhang Lin was detained under the previous rules and regulations on the internet (version 2000.)

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15114

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China state is busy doing huge deals with European and some US tech companies to increase internet use and profitability "the capitalist benefits" at the same time it wants to take out all the true "Social benefits".

This ought concern us all, this is really how many western, and undoubtedly most african and mid- asian states would prefer the internet (and by effect their citizens) to be.

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China
population--------1,294,867,000
internet users : 78,000,000 (2003)

- Average charge for 20 hours of connection
: 8 euros

One of the most serious situations for freedom of opinion and liberty of expression in the world.

As of May 2004 there were 61 dissidents in custody, sentances varying from "long short" (4-5years) to "medium long" (7 to15 years) to "throw away the key"

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10749
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/home/index.html