On 9/27/05, Delirium <delirium(a)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)