Remember when China officially declared war on Internet pornography and set a target of just six months to purge the Web of sexually explicit images, stories and AV clips? No, well read this to refresh your memory. While you are at it, make a note of the date: that story was posted back in April 2007. A little more than six months ago, and yet porn is as much of a reality in China today as it was back then.
In 2007 the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, Zhang Xinfeng, was quoted as stating that the boom of pornographic content on the Internet had "contaminated cyberspace and perverted China's young minds" and arguing that the inflow of pornographic materials from abroad and lax domestic control were "to blame for the existing problems in China's cyberspace."
Today we have Liu Zhengrong, the Deputy Director of the Chinese Cabinet Internet Affairs Bureau, saying that some 41 people have been arrested so far this month and 1250 pornographic websites closed down. Some 3.2 million pieces of 'porn' have also been deleted during the sweep. But as anyone who knows anything about the online sex industry will tell you, 3 million pieces of porn and a tad over 1000 websites are the equivalent of spitting in the ocean.
Liu says that the IAB has made some "apparent achievements" but admits it still has "a lot of work to do."
So much for regulating the Internet for porn and other 'lewd' content then. This despite ordering Google and other popular Chinese sites to block all porn from Chinese eyes.
According to the Window of China the anti-porn campaign has now also been extended to include mobile phone sex. Editor Zhang Xiang reports that seven government departments, including the State Council's Information Office, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Culture, have stated "We will incorporate 'lewd' messages spread via mobile phones into the crackdown."
