Chinese Authorities Clamp Down On Illicit Web-Sites

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

11 August 2004

After an official report by the State Administration of Press and Publications on the Internet in China found that 56% of users are game-players, and more than a quarter visit pornographic sites, the government is taking action in both sectors. Although game-playing as such is not banned in China, a 3-month pilot campaign has found more than 50 game sites which are said to contain 'unhealthy' content or were pirated.

Now a nation-wide attack on illicit games is being mounted in concert with the State Copyright Bureau and the National Office for Anti-Porn and Anti-Piracy. Said Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the audio and video section of the State Administration of Press and Publications: "The campaign is unique because it will specifically target video games makers. It will be the biggest campaign of its kind in recent years." He said that most of the games with 'content problems' were foreign. Some advocated Taiwan or Tibet independence. Gaming regulations prohibit any game which 'hurts national dignity and interests'.

The administration has tightened market supervision, shut down video shops and launched probes into game making companies. Some games providers would be taken to court, said un-named officials.

A nationwide crackdown on pornographic websites is also in full swing. Since mid-July, nearly 700 websites have been shut down in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing cities and Liaoning and Guangdong provinces, and 224 people have been arrested. Now the official Xinhua news agency says that leading web-sites Sina.com, Sohu.com and Netease.com are complying with orders to clean up web content to "create a green environment for millions of underage surfers". Technical measures have been taken to clean up the sites and web-links, as well as to block pornographic content in their chatrooms and bulletin boards.

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