China to limit microblogs, social networks

From The New York Times: “China Reins in Liberalization of Culture”

“Communist leaders are proposing new limits on media and Internet freedoms that include some of the most restrictive measures in years.

The most striking instance occurred Tuesday, when the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television ordered 34 major satellite television stations to limit themselves to no more than two 90-minute entertainment shows each per week…They are also being ordered to broadcast two hours of state-approved news every evening. The ministry said the measures, to go into effect on Jan. 1, were aimed at rooting out “excessive entertainment and vulgar tendencies.”

The restrictions arrived as party leaders signaled new curbs on China’s short-message, Twitter-like microblogs, an Internet sensation that has mushroomed in less than two years into a major — and difficult to control — source of whistle-blowing.”

[caption id=”attachment_80" align=”aligncenter” width=”601" caption=”An Internet cafe in Beijing. Photo credit: Sim Chi Yin for The New York Times”]

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