Hebei bloggers agree to self-regulate
- Source: Global Times
- [03:38 February 02 2010]
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By Ji Beibei
More than 6,000 Internet bloggers in Shijiazhuang, in North China's Hebei Province have signed a convention, agreeing to self-regulate their websites' content. The convention, signed Friday, stipulates that bloggers should not publish pornographic or indecent material, expose other's privacy or launch personal attacks.
The convention encourages bloggers to post original stories but to maintain subjectivity in their writing.
One person involved in drafting the convention, Li Dongshun, told the Global Times that those who signed it come from five different so-called blog circles, or sites that are hyper-linked. Li and 10 others from his circle monitor more than 900 blogs.
"We take turns to check whether there is any content violating the convention and those in violation will be blacklisted and kicked out of the circle," said Li.
Those found guilty can still post their articles but others will not be able to see their updates.
"We did it out of love for blogs and we just want a healthy circle," noted Li.
Some 10 circles outside Shijiazhuang also signed the convention online, according to Zhao Fushan, the man in charge of the Taihangbofeng Blog Circle.
Zhao is a retired reporter with over a year of experience managing such circles.
"It is a bit chaotic in some blog circles as some write articles with ulterior motives," Zhao told the Global Times. In one case last October, Yan Deli, a 29-year-old woman from Hebei Province, appeared to have claimed she was infected with AIDS. But the item was actually posted by a man who had become disgruntled after Yan wanted to break up with him. The man, surnamed Yang, had made up the stories using Yan's name, and was later detained in Beijing on libel charges.
"If every blog circle can fulfill its social responsibility, the cases like the AIDS-infected girl Yan Deli may be a lot fewer," Li added.
