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Beijing: Chinese
authorities closed 16 websites and detained six people responsible
for "fabricating or disseminating online rumors," the State
Internet Information Office (SIIO) and Beijing police said Friday.
The websites, including meizhou.net, xn528.com and cndy.com.cn,
were closed for spreading rumors of "military vehicles entering
Beijing and something wrong going on in Beijing," which were
fabricated by some lawless people recently, said a spokesman with
SIIO, reported Xinhua.
The rumours have caused "a very bad influence on the public" and
the websites were closed in accordance with laws for failing to
stop the spread of rumours, said the spokesman.
Beijing police also detained six people for allegedly fabricating
and spreading the above-mentioned rumours, particularly through
microblogging posts, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of
Public Security.
An undisclosed number of people who had disseminated similar
rumours on the Internet were also "admonished and educated," who
have shown intention to repent, the police said.
The SIIO spokesman also said with regard to a number of rumours
having appeared on weibo.com and t.qq.com, the two popular
microblogging sites have been "criticized and punished
accordingly" by Internet information administration authorities in
Beijing and Guangdong respectively.
The spokesman did not elaborate what the punishment was, but said
the two websites had pledged to "strengthen the management."
Beijing police in a statement Friday urged Internet users to abide
by laws and be vigilant against online rumours, which severely
disturb the public order, undermine social stability and deserve
punishment.
An editorial to be carried in the Saturday edition of People's
Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China,
said anyone involved in creating and spreading rumours will surely
be punished according to laws.
"By falsely packaging lies and speculation as 'truth' and
'existence,' online rumours undermine the morale of the public,
and if out of control, they will seriously disturb the public
order and affect social stability," reads the article.
All Internet operators and users in China should abide by relevant
laws and regulations as fundamental rules for ensuring the healthy
development of Internet, according to the commentary.
China has seen its Internet population continue to grow as rapid
urbanization has allowed more and more people to access the web,
and concerns over cyber safety have increased alongside the
industry's boom.
The number of Internet users in China is estimated to have reached
513 million as of the end of 2011, up 55.8 million year-on-year,
according to latest figures from the China Internet Network
Information Center.
Current laws and regulations governing the Internet management
include a decision of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress on safeguarding Internet safety, Rules on the
Management of Internet Information Service, and Regulations on
Internet News and Information Service.
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