China Closes More Than 13,000 Websites in Past Three Years (reuters.com)

China has closed more than 13,000 websites since the beginning of 2015 for breaking the law or other rules and the vast majority of people support government efforts to clean up cyberspace, state news agency Xinhua reports. From the report: The government has stepped up already tight controls over the internet since President Xi Jinping took power five years ago, in what critics say is an effort to restrict freedom of speech and prevent criticism of the ruling Communist Party. The government says all countries regulate the internet, and its rules are aimed at ensuring national security and social stability and preventing the spread of pornography and violent content. A report to the on-going session of the standing committee of China's largely rubber stamp parliament said the authorities had targeted pornography and violence in their sweeps of websites, blogs and social media accounts, Xinhua said.

Comments

Re:Why?

[AmiMoJo]

China isn't communist. I'm in China right now, it's a monument to consumerism. Capitalism is huge here, people value material possessions and bling more than anything. "Imported" brands (made in China) are the most desirable.

China is just authoritarian. Not socialist, definitely not that, and not communist in any meaningful way. It's no more communist than the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is democratic.