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Chinese city to fine Web satirists
2006-10-16
The price of Internet satire in China is going up. A major Chinese city is threatening to fine Web surfers up to $625 for online defamation amid a surge in short satirical Internet films, an official news report said Monday. The new rules enacted in Chongqing, an industrial city in China's southwest, against "online defamation" come as Beijing tries to tighten control over the freewheeling Internet. The rules target Web users "who spread information or remarks defaming others, launch personal attacks or damage others' reputations online," the official Xinhua News Agency said. Potential violations include posting online video "to satirize others or social phenomena." Video spoofs have become so popular that Chinese have coined a new slang term, "egao," to describe the act of using real film clips to create mocking send ups. Star film director Chen Kaige complained this year about a 20-minute short titled "The Bloody Case of the Steamed Bun," made with clips from Chen's "The Promise." Xinhua didn't say how Chongqing would decide whether Internet users violated the rules or whether it would try to enforce its regulations on Web surfers elsewhere. China's government encourages Internet use for business and education but tries to block access to material deemed subversive or obscene. Government film regulators announced new rules in August meant to rein in the "egao" fad by allowing only authorized major Web sites to show short films online. Muzi.com News
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