The Chinese government threatens to close local websites, including personal Blogs, that will fail to “register”. The registration process requires site owners and operators to provide their complete personal information. After June 30, all unregistered China-based web sites will be declared illegal.
A statement from the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said that “The plan is all the more worrying as the government has also revealed that it has a new system for monitoring sites in real time and spotting those that fail to comply.”
“This decision will enable those in power to control online news and information much more effectively… The authorities also hope to push the most outspoken online sites to migrate abroad, where they will become inaccessible to those inside China because of the Chinese filtering systems.”
According to official figures, 74% of web sites have already complied with the new registration procedures.
The full report on Reporters Without Borders Website(usually inaccessible from China).
This story on Reuters.com: China to close local Web sites if unregistered
This story on CNet News.com.
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