China's Communist government has launched what President Hu Jintao has called a "people's war" against Internet porn, giving Websites until September to lose the "indecent" material or lose their license to publish news, state media announced July 19.
So far, officials have fingered 500 Websites across China carrying porn stills and film clips, and public security minister Zhou Yongkang has sworn to crack down on Chinese Net porn and those who run or use the sites.
Various news service reports indicate a total of 22,000 complaints turned up on a dedicated government Website established to make it easier for Chinese citizens to report Internet wrongdoing actual or alleged, with most complaints aiming at Net porn.
The state news agency Xinhua said "hundreds" of Websites publish "indecent or even pornographic" material, though the agency offered no known examples.
The e-porn crackdown seemed not to surprise China-watchers who noted that the government began a serious crackdown on anti-government content and what the regime called "spiritual pollution," excessive youth attendance at Internet cafes, and other Internet-related activities earlier this year. The regime suspended registration of new Internet cafes and closed down a reported 16,000 earlier in the year.
