BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s cyber regulator has launched a hotline to report online comments slandering the ruling Communist Party and its history, promising to crack down on “historic nihilists” ahead of the party’s centenary in July.
The advice line allows people to denounce other Internet users who “distort” the party’s history, attack its leadership and policies, defame national heroes, and “deny the excellence of advanced socialist culture” online , according to a notice published by an arm of the Cyberspace Administration. China (CAC) Friday.
“Some with later motives … have spread online historical nihilistic distortions, maliciously distorting, denigrating and denying the party’s history,” the notice said.
“We expect most Internet users to be actively involved in monitoring society … and to report enthusiastically on harmful information,” he said.
“Historical nihilism” is a phrase used in China to describe public doubt and skepticism about the description of the past events of the Chinese Communist Party.
China’s Internet is closely censored and most foreign social networks, search engines and media are banned in the country.
Internet authorities often increase censorship and online surveillance before important events, including historic anniversaries, political meetings, and sporting events.
The notice did not specify what punishments would be served to people who are reported through the hotline, but netizens in China are already facing jail and other legal punishments for posting content critical of leadership. , county policies and history.
Legal amendments released earlier this year state that people who “insult, slander and violate” the memory of China’s national heroes and martyrs face up to three years in prison.
Last week, authorities in Jiangsu Province in eastern China arrested a 19-year-old man after making “insulting” comments online about the Japanese occupation of Nanjing in 1937.
Chinese social media sites that do not censor critical content also face financial penalties as well as temporary suspensions of services under current legislation.
Cate Cadell Reports; Edited by Kim Coghill