China has issued new regulations on the filtering of mobile phone short-text messages in a move that expands its censorship controls over wireless technologies and the Internet, state press said yesterday.
The "Self-Discipline Standards on Content in Mobile Short Messaging Services" were issued recently and are aimed at weeding out pornographic, fraudulent and illicit messages, Xinhua news agency reported.
The standards provide the framework for China Mobile Corp, the country's largest mobile phone service provider, to contract out the policing and filtering of short messages for content deemed unhealthy or fraudulent, the report said.
PHOTO: AP
So far 10 such companies have begun the policing work in 20 categories of content that are spelt out in an earlier agreement or "treaty" on content between the government and Internet Service Providers.
China maintains some of the toughest Internet regulations in the world and has reportedly up to 30,000 people policing the Internet for subversive political content and pornography.
"Cyber-dissidents" who post political views on the Internet that are opposed to official Communist Party views are routinely rounded up and jailed for subversion.
According to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, the new short-messaging regulations could further lead to the crackdown on political dissidents sending messages via mobile short messages.
"The Chinese authorities are making ever greater use of new technology to control the circulation of news and information. In the past months we have been witnessing a real downturn in press freedom particularly on the Internet," the group said in a statement.
"The international community should react against this hardening by the Chinese regime," the statement said.
It said that instant text messaging helped expose the governments attempts to cover up the SARS outbreak last year.
According to the group, the Chinese firm Venus Info Tech Ltd, has already begun to filter mobile phone messages for key words to pinpoint "reactionary" text senders.
"Its surveillance system would allow it to home in on `false political rumors' and `reactionary remarks' among others," Reporters Without Borders said, citing a press release from the company.
According to Xinhua, over 220 billion text messages were sent in China last year, making up some 55 percent of the world's text messages.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
RSS