New rules for registrars
1 January 2004
The Chinese government issued new rules for domain name registrars - companies that manage Internet addresses. Mainland registrars must now have at least RMB 1 million in start-up capital. They must also have at least 15 employees and offer 24-hour customer service. According to the Ministry of Information Industry, registrars must also have "strict and effective mechanisms for cleaning bad and offensive domain names". China currently has around 30 registrars, which now must also register with the Ministry of Culture as Internet content providers.