BEIJING — The Chinese government wants to present a wholesome, modern image when it hosts the Summer Olympics in August, so as part of a national clean-up effort, it is showing renewed vigor in efforts to remove “unhealthy and disorderly” materials and “decadent and backward thoughts and culture” from the Web.As part of the effort, the government is signing self-censorship pacts with news and media organizations, internet service providers and other state-sanctioned sites. The pacts, officially referred to as “voluntary,” vow to eradicate porn, violence, gambling and “horror.” Eight major websites, including news agency Xinhua and the People’s Daily newspaper have signed on, according to Reuters.
“The signatories should actively disseminate healthy, beneficial audio-visual programs meeting socialist moral norms,” according to language in the pacts, which were drafted by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. “Decadent, backward thoughts and culture must be boycotted by all.”
Both online porn and gaming have been under increasing assault by the Chinese government for the past year and a half. Also in the government’s sights are “harmful” or subversive topics like Nazi Germany, democracy, criticism of the communist regime, and mentioning “unapproved” events in Chinese history (like Tiananmen Square).
“Horror” only recently was added to the list of prohibited internet content. The government defines it as “wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals, strange and supernatural storytelling for the sole purpose of seeking terror and horror.” The General Administration of Press and Publications said the material is banned in order “to protect adolescents’ psychological health.”
To help websites that want to comply with the government’s agenda, authorities have established a state-run database that contains recommended online programming as well as a list of content that must be avoided.
With the second largest user base in the world — 210 million by the end of 2007, second only to the U.S.’s 215 million — it’s unclear whether China’s conservative Internet policies reflect the population’s mores or vice versa. What does seem apparent is that the communist government is doing its best to maintain the hearts and minds of an increasingly connected youthful generation: Users between the ages of 18 and 24 make up 31.8-percent of China’s Web-enabled population, and users 25 to 30 make up another 18.1-percent. On the whole, China’s internet-enabled population grew by 50-percent during 2007.
The government is not alone in its concern about what young people see online. According to a survey by Shanghai University, 85-percent of primary school teachers and 73.4-percent of parents are anxious about the porn and violence children can access on the Web; 56.8-percent and 29.2-percent of teachers and parents, respectively, said they feel powerless to control the problem.
Just because the government forbids it doesn’t mean Chinese citizens are avoiding online smut, though. Last week an official with Beijing Qingdian Wanwei Telecommunications and Technology Co. Ltd. and three of his employees were charged with uploading 28 “obscene” images during the past year. More than 250,000 people clicked on the images, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
“Because of the high click rate, they are likely to face more than ten years [in] jail,” the paper noted.
In February, six people were arrested in connection with a sex scandal involving several popular Hong Kong-based stars. Baidu.com, China’s most popular search engine, was censured by the government for its part in circulating “obscene” images of the stars en flagrante delicto.
In 2007, Chinese authorities shut down 44,000 domestic websites and arrested 868 people for distributing pornography. Another 1,911 people involved in “internet pornography activities” were penalized, according to ChinaView.cn. Although the government has said most “pornography sources” are located in other countries, it is well aware its citizens are among the fastest growing segments of porn consumers. Beijing employs tens of thousands of human censors in order block website access and intercept “inappropriate” email and mobile-phone messages.
