Slashdot Mirror
China Arrests Thousands In Internet Porn Crackdown
Clandestine_Blaze writes "Chinese police have arrested 5,394 people — with another 4,186 criminal cases in the works — in one of the largest crackdowns on Internet porn in the country. Even more arrests are expected in 2010, according to the Ministry of Public Security's website (In Chinese or Google translated into English). According to the Reuters article on the crackdown, one of the justifications was that the pornography was 'threatening the emotional health of children.' From the English translation of the Ministry of Public Security's website linked above, it appears that certain provinces are also offering 1,000 yuan and 2,000 yuan rewards, per person, for reporting illegal websites to the government."
God bless the USA.
What is this strange concept, the Internet without porn? Maybe the meaning of "the Internet" was lost in translation for the Chinese.
Since the the summary didn't mention it, 1000 yuan is about $146.50.
http://blogs.lns.kicks-ass.net/moonjihad/
China is not a Left Wing or Communist State. There may be an entity called the Communist Party of China, but by no means is China Leftist, or even Socialist. They are a Fascist Autocracy.
No liberal or leftist government would attack the consumption of adult pornography. (Nor would they even care.)
Not that I am advocating Communism, which has failed everywhere it has been tried, and is an unworkable ideology, but as a leftist, who is deeply concerned about the rise of Right Wing Fascism around the world, I am concerned what this could cause Western governments to adopt. We have already seen that a large percentage of our Christian Right extremists in the USA and Canada do not believe in sexual equality or egalitarianism, or freedom of speech. I worry this will give them ideas.
um... wasn't there a slashdot report about whitelisting of all foreign web sites, so that no external porn would get into the country?? did someone in the chinese government forget about the concept of a) mirrors b) home-grown porn, then?
In the scheme of things pornography exposure is not the end of the world but it does subtly alter your thought processes, and not for the better.
By what measure? Come on AC, justify your assertion.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
It's only $300, and I believe the websites need to be hosted in China. They want to stop people from making porn in China (viewed as exploiting local women), and they don't care so much about people simply viewing porn on foreign sites. $300 is the monthly salary for many Chinese, if that puts it into perspective. It's difficult to say whether what class that is, though, because incomes are all over the place. Maybe it's a working class salary.
Systemd: the PulseAudio of init systems
It's a country of saints and monks I tells ya!
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
In some corners of the world it is time to get serious about crypto and darknets. If the chinese government is not careful, their attempts to suppress pornography may lead to the creation of networks which will ultimately bring them down.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Socialist crackpots have defined socialism and communism as good, hence by definition nothing bad is part of it.
If a state does bad things, the state is not a socialist state, hence it cannot be used as a negative example for any purpose in discussions about socialism.
Similarly, capitalist crackpots have defined the free market as good, hence by definition nothing bad is part of it.
If a market produces bad outcomes, that market is not a free market, hence it cannot be used as a negative example for any purpose in discussions about capitalism.
Untruths about socialism cannot be accepted even in the most private corners. (Cue Norway, where the Socialist Left party announced that the state is better than parents at raising children most of the time).
Similarly, untruths about capitalism cannot be accepted even in the most private corners. (Cue the United States, where the Republican Party regularly announces that the individual is better than the state at doing everything all the time.)
I agree. Don't jail people for a speculative theory. If they have solid proof it "undermines women", then you have a semi-case. But right now it's merely arm-chair guesses from up on top.
If China really wants to help women, then do something about the "last name" problem where sons are "valued" more because they carry the family last name when married. That's a huge and real stigma problem.
And if you jail everybody for porn, then you waste resources that could be spent on real crimes.
Table-ized A.I.
So now we define words based on what the crackpots think they mean?
Parent is using a straw man fallacy: setting up a false premise that is easy to knock down with the subsequent argument; banking on others to accept the false premise.
Patriotism and Nationalism (2 different things) often suffer from attempted hijacking by crackpots seeking to redefine them.
For example, in the USA socialism has been misunderstood for over a generation and the crackpot definition is currently mainstream. "Keep the government out of my medicare!" etc.
Besides, this left/right paradigm is for simpletons and the poor reasoning that results aids the political parties. So, the misunderstanding is perpetuated. In addition, many people are willfully ignorant when it comes to politics (there is no stigma of shame like there is with illiteracy.) A far more realistic model is TWO DIMENSIONAL: left/right + top/bottom. Check it out: http://politicalcompass.org/
I reiterate:
So now we define words based on what the crackpots think they mean?
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
In China? Out of 1.3 billion people? They have some catching up to do....
Libertarian crackpots are just as guilty. Whoever modded the parent down was probably one of them!
Ask them why the USA's free market in health insurance sucks so much and they'll say "it's just not free ENOUGH". Even though every country with health insurance that WORKS has way MORE government involvement.
'socialist crackpots'. this is the first phrase in your post. it renders your post SO credible and respectable that it goes beyond calculation.
and in addition, there is the ignorance that renders much respectability to your post. without knowing any other country other than your own america, which you believe that the best country on earth because YOU WERE TOLD IT TO BE SO, you are totally devoid of any knowledge about how europe has been living under left governments in the majority of the last 60 years, and what kind of freedom and standard of living they attained.
let me tell you what hit the constitutional court in sweden just a few months ago, and resolved as a nationwide issue ; it was decided that it was inalienable right of swedish women to be topless on beaches and pools, and noone could force them to cover their breasts. not insurance. not healthcare. not freedom of speech. not any wrongdoing by government people. this was one of the biggest recent issues in sweden. the freedom of speech and choice you think you have in your country is like bread and butter there.
and in the place you put out as a bad example, norway, which went far out to say that state does better raising children than their parents, is another show of ignorance. children have no worries there. it doesnt matter whether they are raised or not even. work, standard of living, freedoms are guaranteed. yet, in your america, where parents raise their children oh so properly, you have millions of radicals raising millions of kids estranged from the society, in a spectrum ranging from mild racist to mormon.
excuse me, but mr. mccarthy, your time has passed. success of european countries and the recent unimaginable SCAM that your corporate world has pulled off globally, shred all credibility to the 'america is best place to be' bullshit we have been feeding by arrogant americans all around the world. now the wise ones do not even open their mouths to utter any similar shit, only you right wing nutjobs remain blabbering the same 50 year old tune.
Read radical news here
WHITEHALL, Beijing, Friday (NTN) — British police arrested thousands in the Digital Britain drive against Internet file sharing throughout 2009, officials said, which critics say is being used to tighten overall censorship.
The British government has run a highly publicized campaign, “Digital Britain,” against what officials said were banned file sharing of Lily Allen songs, overwhelming the country’s Internet and “threatening the emotional health of children.”
Lord Mandelson said late on Thursday that the crackdown on Internet file sharing had brought 5,394 arrests and 4,186 criminal case investigations in 2009. The announcement on the Digital Britain website said the drive would deepen in 2010. Police would “intensify punishments for Internet operations that violate laws and regulations. Strengthen monitoring of information,” it urged, “Press Internet service providers to put in place preventive technology.”
The ministry did not say how many of the 5,394 suspects arrested were later charged, released or prosecuted. The anti-file sharing drive has also netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply user-generated content, in what some see as an effort by the government to reassert control over new media. The ruling Labour Party worries the Internet could become a dangerous conduit for threatening images and ideas.
Britain has banned a number of popular websites and Internet services, including Wikipedia. NewsTechnica passed without comment, however.
http://rocknerd.co.uk
Indeed. And here in the UK, we've had a year of possession of so-called "extreme" porn being criminalised, which is already being used for as ludicrous cases as joke Photoshopped images of someone having sex with a tiger.
It also reminds me of a common claim regarding criticism of porn crackdowns: "Why are you whining about porn; in China they have real censorship about political things, that's what real censorship is like", they cry. Stories like this show that different kinds of censorship - whether moral or political - are two sides of the same coin. They all have the same effect of ruining people's lives, over material that the state wants to banish.
It is not just porn that China is censoring.
January 1, 2010:
China: Reaffirms Plans to "Purify" the Internet
Says crackdown on online pornography is part of overall effort to preserve "national long-term stability," build a "harmonious socialist society," and prevent the "poisoning of young people's physical and mental health," but most likely is all about strengthening its grip on the what could be a dangerous conduit for threatening images and ideas.
As part of that effort it says that it intends to create a "blacklist" that will provide "timely information about foreign propaganda, radio and television, publishing and other areas for their disposal."
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/87485/china-reaffirms-plans-to-purify-the-internet/
As a native Chinese, I really don't think that the reason to crackdown on online pornography is for the health of the children. The internet seems to be the only media where the voice of criticism on the Chinese govenment could be heard, since the newspaper and T.V. station are firmly controlled by the Communist Party of China. The discussion on the social affairs on the internet may have some pressure on the government. Although the morality of the Chinese tradition mertis the virginity of Woman, the openings for 30 years changed the tradition thoughts very much. Currently, it was not regraded as a merit in lots area in China. I agree that opinion the reason is of strengthing the control on the internet in China.