The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is curbing the online activities of its 89 million members ahead of a leadership shake-up in a few months.
The new rules, made public on Tuesday, said that all party cadres face punishment if they visit “illegal Web sites” or disclose party and state secrets online.
Cadres need permission from the party before registering social media accounts or setting up a WeChat group that contains their job information, the party’s personnel, propaganda and cyber watchdog said.
Members could also face punishment for passing information online that damages the image of the party or the leadership, the rules said.
Violators could be punished with party regulations and the nation’s laws, they said.
The new rules come amid a surge in restrictions on free expression ahead of the 19th Party Congress, a meeting of top leaders that is to mark the halfway point in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) presumed term in office.
Xi has recently warned military and government officials to stay loyal.
China already blocks access to Twitter, Facebook and news Web sites such as the New York Times.
Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service was partially blocked in China last month and the government has begun cracking down on virtual private networks — a technology that allows users to route their data overseas, allowing a way around Beijing’s Internet firewall.
Authorities already have the power to censor images and conversations held in private one-on-one chats on WeChat, a service provided by Tencent Holdings that has more than 768 million daily active users.
The number of banned keyword combinations greatly increased on WeChat and other social media platforms, according to a report published last month by human rights group Citizen Lab.
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