p2pnet - rss feed: China’s self-censoring sites
p2p news / p2pnet: Young people in China are being corrupted by online sex and violence, say the country’s leaders. Accordingly, they’re launching new attacks on “unhealthy” Net content.
“The nation’s leading news sites and internet portals have vowed to adhere to a strict programme of ’self-censorship’ to support the ‘Eight Honours and Disgraces’, a new doctrine of ’socialist morality’ recently laid out by Hu Jintao, the Chinese President,” says the Times Online.
Qianlong.com, Sohu.com, Sina.com, Netease, Tom.com, China.com, Baidu.com, Ynet, Zhongsou.com, Xilu.com, Xici.net, Yahoo, Hexun and Daqi.com had been invited to put forward proposals, “regarding the healthy management of their online domains”.
The move is the latest in a string of initiatives by China designed to cement the government’s already formidable hold over online content, says the Times Online, continuing:
“The proposals have been backed by 11 China-based news sites, including Xinhuanet.com and Chinadaily.com.cn, which said they would back ’self-censorship’ to ‘resist indecent content’.
As the web develops quickly, “certain sites are transmitting unhealthy news … and uncivilised voice services, including pornographic content that can be harmful to society,” says a document from the The Internet Society of China (ISC).
Interestingly, although Yahoo features on the list, Google and Microsoft’s MSN Network, both of which also help China with its censorshop efforts, don’t.
Also See:
Times Online - Beijing’s war on online sex and violence, April 25, 2006
healthy management - China’s 8 Net Honors, 8 Shames, April 11, 2006
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If you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent website blocking outside of China.
Download it here and feel free to copy the zip and host it yourself so others can download it.
May 1st, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Self-censorship? It’s really frightening how much the Chinese government controls/regulates citizens’ use of the internet, but what’s even more terrifying is the fact that American companies are so quick to comply with these “censorship laws.” I partially relieved to see companies like Anonymizer offering Chinese citizens a way to access a free and uncensored internet. Lance Cottrel, president of Anonymizer, offers this solution at no cost to Chinese citizens (available at www.xifuchun.com), because he feels so strongly about these issues and protecting basic civil liberties.