China Intensifies Online Crackdown Ahead of 100th Anniversary of Communist Party Founding

6 Ministries Crack Down on Harmful Content
Over 6,400 Illegal Sites Shut Down by Last Month

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party on the 1st of next month, Chinese authorities are launching a crackdown on internet content. On the 9th, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that six ministries, including the Propaganda Department, the Cyberspace Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, will jointly crack down on harmful internet content until National Day (October 1). Xinhua explained that this internet harmful content crackdown is part of the “Internet Purification 2021 Project.”

Xinhua reported that until National Day, there will be a focused crackdown on harmful online video content such as pornography. It also emphasized that harmful information related to historical nihilism (criticism or raising doubts about Chinese history) and content maliciously distorting the Chinese Communist Party and socialist values will be key targets of the crackdown.

Xinhua stated that Chinese regulatory authorities have been conducting crackdowns on social networking services (SNS), internet broadcasting, webtoons, and more to create a healthy network environment, and by the end of May, they had shut down more than 6,400 illegal websites.

Xinhua also detailed that Shanghai authorities arrested and prosecuted 13 members of a pornography distribution ring. They are suspected of distributing over 100,000 pornographic videos using servers located overseas. The seized pornographic video data alone amounts to 128 terabytes (TB), and the illegal funds confiscated from them exceed 7 million yuan (approximately 1.22 billion Korean won), Xinhua added.

State-run media such as Xinhua and the People’s Daily highlighted numerous other cases of pornography crackdowns, emphasizing the achievements of the Internet Purification 2021 Project. However, there is speculation that this online crackdown is closely related to the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding.

A source in Beijing explained, “Every year, online controls are repeated, such as blocking searches for related terms ahead of the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen democracy protests, but since this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party’s founding, the crackdown will be even more intensified. The reports by state-run media on the crackdown of harmful online content can be interpreted as a public warning.”

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities will control the surrounding area, including closing Tiananmen Square from the 23rd until July 1.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.