On 9/27/05, Delirium delirium@hackish.org wrote:
Caroline Ford wrote:
Let's wait until we hear from the Chinese users, rather than filtered via foreign media..
Well, you can get it confirmed by Xinhua, the official state media: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-09/26/content_3544488.htm
Although they spin it as a way to crack down on "fabricated information, pornography, gambling, or violence", the most relevant paragraph confirms the widely reported new registration requirements:
"News sites set up by news organizations but publishing not just their own stories, and sites by other organizations featuring news stories must get approval from the State Council Information Office. Sites by news organizations that only carry their own stories should register at the main office or provincial information offices."
It has been the buzz for the last few days in this region, but it's unlikely Wikipedia will be directly affected by this, English or Chinese. However, if there was a Chinese Wikinews, it would likely be affected.
When the authorities say "news sites," that's a precise term. Most knowledgeable watchers feel it targets bloggers and second tier news providers, namely Sina.com, Sohu.com that over the years have inserted more of their own a-la-carte commentaries alongside "approved" news sources like Xinhua, even though they are not officially allowed to do so. In the end, there is nothing earth shattering about the guidelines - they are reinforcements of existing policies. But restating them so emphatically means folks will cut back to more safe policies in the near term.
-Andrew (User:Fuzheado)