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China to crack down on rumor-spreading
posted Saturday, 25 August 2007
Care of Reuters
While there is clearly a need to stop malicious rumors such as the toothpick story, this blogger can't help but wonder how many people might be arrested for spreading "rumors" such as 'My university said that it was changing the syllabus half way through the year, now I have to pay for extra tuition, but I think that they just want to get more money out of me' or, maybe, 'Corrupt officials in X province took our land and built a factory on it'. Or, maybe even, 'Tibetans don't want more Han to come to Tibet'.
Frankly, this blogger has seen too many crackdowns in China that are presented as being moral or social crusades to take anything that Beijing says along these lines at face value any more. We all remember Beijing's efforts to stamp our rumors about floods and mining disasters, don't we? Or SARS.
China arrests or warns 60 for spreading rumors
BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in east China have arrested or warned 60 people for spreading rumors by SMS or on the Internet so far this year and specified the threat of modern communications to society, state media said on Tuesday.
China has an army of cyber-police who patrol the Internet for unfavorable content, but their targets are more often politically sensitive subjects than pornography.
Xia Cunxi, a public security spokesman in the eastern province of Jiangsu, said 60 were accused of spreading rumors, lies or offensive messages, the official China Daily said in its online edition.
"rumors spread by modern means of communication can be a greater menace to society than those spread by word of mouth," Xia was quoted as saying.
The report did not specify how the cases were dealt with or how many suspects were arrested and charged.
In one case, police in July detained two men who sent text messages to more than 200 relatives or friends, claiming people with AIDS were spreading the disease by using toothpicks at restaurants and returning them to their containers, it said.
An Internet posting alleged that police chased a man riding a motorcycle with his son on the back, causing the death of the son who had won a place in a prestigious university.
In April, police launched an immediate investigation after a posting claimed a school in Jiangsu would be the site of a shooting spree with a death toll exceeding that of the Virginia Tech shootings in the United States just days earlier.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in east China have arrested or warned 60 people for spreading rumors by SMS or on the Internet so far this year and specified the threat of modern communications to society, state media said on Tuesday.
China has an army of cyber-police who patrol the Internet for unfavorable content, but their targets are more often politically sensitive subjects than pornography.
Xia Cunxi, a public security spokesman in the eastern province of Jiangsu, said 60 were accused of spreading rumors, lies or offensive messages, the official China Daily said in its online edition.
"rumors spread by modern means of communication can be a greater menace to society than those spread by word of mouth," Xia was quoted as saying.
The report did not specify how the cases were dealt with or how many suspects were arrested and charged.
In one case, police in July detained two men who sent text messages to more than 200 relatives or friends, claiming people with AIDS were spreading the disease by using toothpicks at restaurants and returning them to their containers, it said.
An Internet posting alleged that police chased a man riding a motorcycle with his son on the back, causing the death of the son who had won a place in a prestigious university.
In April, police launched an immediate investigation after a posting claimed a school in Jiangsu would be the site of a shooting spree with a death toll exceeding that of the Virginia Tech shootings in the United States just days earlier.
While there is clearly a need to stop malicious rumors such as the toothpick story, this blogger can't help but wonder how many people might be arrested for spreading "rumors" such as 'My university said that it was changing the syllabus half way through the year, now I have to pay for extra tuition, but I think that they just want to get more money out of me' or, maybe, 'Corrupt officials in X province took our land and built a factory on it'. Or, maybe even, 'Tibetans don't want more Han to come to Tibet'.
Frankly, this blogger has seen too many crackdowns in China that are presented as being moral or social crusades to take anything that Beijing says along these lines at face value any more. We all remember Beijing's efforts to stamp our rumors about floods and mining disasters, don't we? Or SARS.
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