Government cracks down on pornographic websites
24 January 2008
Around 44,000 websites were shut down and 868 people arrested in China last year for offenses related to internet pornography, state media reported. A further 1,911 people involved in 1,609 internet pornography cases were penalized, while 440,000 pornographic messages posted online were cancelled. The moves were made as part of a nationwide crackdown on internet pornography that authorities say will continue until September. In a teleconference organized by the Ministry of Public Security, the Central Committee's publicity department and 11 other agencies, it was noted that "pornographic sources" are located overseas, while China is the "soil" for the growth of pornographic websites. A separate state media report, cited by AP, claimed that 33 people were arrested for their involvement in a website that supplied live sex shows filmed at 12 different locations in the southern city of Zhuhai.