China, this is the internet
So, this article may not be the most recent news, but I certainly didn’t know about its contents until recently, and I live here:
A year-long campaign by the Hu Jintao government to silence unofficial voices in China and to assert control over independent expression continues with an order…for all Chinese websites and bloggers to register their real names with authorities, or be closed by June 30.Tens of thousands of Chinese use cyberspace to publish views on subjects ranging from politics to relationships, and have been able to avoid official censure by writing anonymously. But now Internet activity will be monitored in real time by Information Ministry computers. Sites and users not registered may be arrested.
From what I’ve seen and heard, no one has been arrested yet, and sites and blogs without the requisite registration information at the bottom of each page have not yet been taken offline, but the fact that this policy even exists is emblematic of the political climate here. The Chinese government tends to fall at least one step behind on regulating most things, but when it comes to the tools of oppression, they throw massive regulation at those who would have their individual freedoms long before most people have even said anything.
