The new rules are the first major update to policies on Internet news and opinion since the authorities promulgated the first comprehensive set of rules on online news media in 2000.
"The foremost responsibility of news sites on the Internet is to serve the people, serve socialism, guide public opinion in the right direction, and uphold the interests of the country and the public good," the regulations state.
Although Chinese authorities already have effectively unlimited powers to control the gathering and publication of news, the Propaganda Department has sometimes struggled to censor information about sensitive developments before it circulates on the Internet.
About 100 million Chinese now have access to the Internet. Though the government closely monitors domestic content and blocks what officials consider to be subversive Web sites from overseas, savvy users can obtain domestic and overseas information that never appears in China's traditional news media.
By the time officials have decided that a topic might prove harmful to the ruling party's agenda, an item about it often has already been posted or discussed on hundreds of sites and viewed by many people, defeating some traditional censorship tools.

La moltiplicazione dei canali attraverso cui le notizie possono penetrare le maglie della dittatura impone un'azione di filtro preventivo: da qui il divieto di pubblicare news provenienti da fonti straniere o commenti senza preventiva autorizzazione. Si tratta del tentativo di regolare l'intero flusso di informazioni che circolano nel paese: il sistema adottato per la stampa tradizionale e la televisione deve essere replicato sul web. A livello di contenuti sono banditi:

1. Acting opposite to the basic principles in the constitution
2. Endangering national security, leaking state secrets, subverting government authority, destroying national unity
3. Damaging national reputation and interests
4. Stirring up ethnic hatred and discrimination, destroying ethnic unity
5. Damaging national religious policies, promotion evil religions and feudal superstitution
6. Distributing rumors, disrupting social order, destroying social stability
7. Distributing pornography, erotica, gambling, violence, terrorism or inciting others to commit crimes
8. Insulting or slandering others, infringing upon the legal rights of others
9. Inciting illegal assembly, social groups, marches, demonstrations and mass incidents to disrupt social order
10. Acting under the name of illegal civil non-government organizations
11. All other contents prohibited by legal and administrative regulations

Hu Jintao, il riformatore...

The statement was just one of a series of initiatives by the government to root out politically sensitive news from domestic and foreign media.
On Thursday a Chinese journalist and former professor was given a seven-year sentence for "inciting subversion" by writing hundreds of articles for banned overseas news websites.
Last month the government tried to implement a scheme to pay journalists according to how much Communist party officials liked, or disliked, their articles. In July a political activist was given five years for posting a punk song on the internet deemed to be subversive, and in April a journalist was sentenced to 10 years for sending an email overseas about restrictions on freedom of speech.
Providing further evidence of an organised national crackdown, the New York Times reported yesterday that Mr Hu called for a "smokeless war" against "liberal elements" in China during a secret leadership meeting in May.

Promuovere l'accesso alla tecnologia per poi utilizzarla come strumento di repressione e propaganda: è il modello cinese da esportazione.
Tutto finito quindi? Internet sta perdendo la partita della democrazia? Dipende da come la si voglia leggere. Per noi oggi la notizia è che Internet funziona e che i gerarchi comunisti di Pechino se la stanno facendo sotto.
P.S. Sembra che qualcuno abbia fatto due chiacchiere con Li Ao l'altra sera...