-Caveat Lector- China to Hunt Seditious Internet Users AP 29-JAN-99 BEIJING (AP) -- China has ordered police to hunt down people posting anti-government remarks on computer networks -- the latest move to tighten government control over the Internet, a human rights group reported Friday. China's national police ministry has ordered special computer task forces to monitor Internet bulletin board services 24 hours a day, the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said. The directive ordered that once "counter-revolutionary" notices are found, the police are to notify the bulletin board service and track down the name of the sender, the group said. Any bulletin board that did not stop the "seditious" talk would be shut down, the group cited the order as saying. A spokesman for the Public Security Ministry, who only identified himself as Mr. Yang, said he had "never heard of such a directive." But the rule is consistent with a clampdown on dissent and intensified efforts to control the Internet. With unemployment rising in the cities and farmers resentful over sagging incomes, Communist Party rulers are taking no chances in a year filled with politically dangerous anniversaries. Most sensitive are the 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement and its violent quelling in June and the 50th anniversary of the Communists' 1949 victory. Chinese authorities have been keen to harness the Internet for business and education but leery of its capacity to spread dissent. Last week, a Shanghai court sentenced a computer entrepreneur to two years in prison for exchanging 30,000 e-mail addresses with an Internet democracy magazine run by U.S.-based dissidents. Despite the controls and threats, Internet use has soared in China. Users topped 2.1 million last year, a four-fold growth in a year, and another 1.5 million accounts are expected to be opened this year. Copyright 1999& The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. RECEIPT OF SPAM WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF THE SENDER'S ISP. ____________________________________________________________________ More than just email--Get your FREE Netscape WebMail account today at http://home.netscape.com/netcenter/mail DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
