In China, Watching XXX on the WWW May Lead to Arrest
posted Sunday Jan 3, 2010 by Nicholas DiMeo
2009 was a big year for a lot of things, one of those being crime. In China, thousands of people were arrested in association with web pornography throughout the year, and many more are expected to be arrested in the new year. Although it's not something we consider criminal here in the United States, the Chinese government believes viewing porn is a crime and many are paying the price.
Over 5,000 arrests and 4,000 investigations have resulted from these "criminals" searching for x-rated images on the Internet. Not only is searching the internet for some nude pics outlawed, many other activities are prohibited in China, including social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. We may see nothing wrong with chatting with our friends through Facebook, but China's Ministry of Public Security plans to "intensify punishments for illegal Internet operations," in 2010. This could mean anything, especially considering the beating that resulted in the death of a child in an Internet addiction clinic not too long ago.
The government can try as hard as they want, but some are still able to slip through to gain access to websites like YouTube and Facebook, and also view porn, without consequence. Looks like Chinese citizens will never know what freedom really is.
