CHINA: Top 10 crackdowns 2009

Updated: 2009-12-30 08:36

Editor's note: Internet porn, drunk driving, human trafficking, someone wandering around the neighborhoods in pajamas...The Chinese government has good reason to keep itself busy all year long. Here are the year's top ten crackdowns, some are timely, some are belated and some are disputable, but all have had an impact on our daily lives.

1. Chongqing triad
2. Online porn
3. Drunk driving
4. Mobile porn
5. Soccer scandals
6. File-sharing websites
7. Human trafficking
8. Pajamas wearing in public
9. Celebrity endorsements
10. Phone scams


1. Chongqing triad

On the morning of October 16, Chongqing Party secretary Bo Xilai told the public for the first time about what set off the "anti-mobster" storm in Chongqing over the past year. He said: "We didn't strike out against mobsters on our own initiative, it was they who forced us to take steps."

The city started a massive crackdown on organized crime in June, exposing deep ties between police and criminals. A spokesman for the municipal procuratorate said at the time police had arrested 700 in connection with gang-related crimes in Chongqing in the year till November.


2. Online porn

China began a high-profile crackdown on Internet porn in January, targeting popular online portals and major search engines such as Google and Baidu.

The government temporarily shut down access to Google in June after reports that it was providing links to pornographic content.

In the same month, the government ordered all new personal computers produced or sold in China after July 1 to carry "Green Dam-Youth Escort," filtering software designed to block pornographic content. The software was declared "not compulsory" by the government in August after it aroused huge controversy, as Internet users complained of privacy invasion and blocking information.


3. Drunk driving

After a number of deadly road accidents caused by drunk driving, China launched a two-month "zero-tolerance" campaign on August 15.

Drunk drivers caught, had their licenses suspended for three or six months and, in serious cases, the driver detained for 15 days. If a drunk driver was caught twice within one year, his or her license was revoked for two to five years.

Here are some of the dreadful accidents caused by drink drivers this year: A motorist in Heilongjiang Province killed two people and injured 23 while driving under the influence of alcohol on August 5. A car careened out of control on a busy Nanjing street, killing five people, including a seven-month pregnant woman on June 30. On Aug 4, a drunk driver in Hangzhou killed a 16-year-old girl. Two days later, another drunk driver in Shanghai killed a four-year-old boy and injured three others.


4. Mobile porn

China had just got Internet porn under control, and then the country had to deal with WAP porn sites.

On Dec 8, nine government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, General Administration of Press and Publication, and State Council Information Office launched a crackdown on cell phone porn. The campaign will continue until May.


5. Soccer scandals

After World Cup failure in 2002, Chinese football was supposed to disappear from the public eye. However, it returned for all the wrong reasons. The recent exposure of illegal gambling and match-fixing in China's top professional football league shocked tens of millions of fans.

The Ministry of Public Security announced in November that a number of former players, soccer officials and club officials had been detained for match-fixing and gambling in Chinese soccer.

"China's football is critically ill. The roots must be pulled up along with the grass," quoted Xinhua News Agency in a report.


6. File-sharing websites

Movie fans were left stunned when they visited popular websites that offer free entertainment downloads only to find they had been closed down by regulators after China ramped up its battle against copyright infringement.

The move left millions of Chinese users disappointed after they checked out their favorite BitTorrent (BT) websites.

As long as websites don't resolve copyright problems, they won't be allowed to reopen, said an official with the online video and audio program department under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.


7. Human trafficking

China has been faced with more organized and more professional cross-border human trafficking crimes in recent years. Child trafficking within China has penetrated almost all provinces.

In the six-month special anti-trafficking operation this year leading up to mid-October, Chinese police cracked 1,717 cases, rescuing more than 6,000 women and children.


8. Pajamas wearing in public

Nowhere else in China will you find residents wandering around their neighborhoods in distinctive pajamas as in Shanghai. The local government launched a controversial city-wide campaign to stop local residents from wearing their pajamas in public.

The "No Pajamas in Public Be Civilized" campaign is part of its efforts to present Shanghai as "an international metropolis" and show a "civilized" face of the city to foreign visitors, when it hosts the World Expo next May.


9. Celebrity endorsements

In China, it is quite common to find celebrities acting in misleading commercials and bragging about the magic effects of certain products.

Following a series of scandals involving products that have killed or poisoned consumers, China's new food safety law, which came into effect on June 1, stipulates that celebrities should be held responsible for the substandard food products they promote in commercials.

But there is no law regulating liabilities in other products, including medicines.


10. Phone scams

The public security ministry launched a four-month campaign starting June 12 after fraud cases through phone calls and text messages increased in recent years across the country.

Criminals often hook their victims by claiming to be from banks or the police, tricking victims into calling fake numbers and giving their account details. The thieves will also cheat the victims by telling them they have won prizes or even fake the kidnapping of a family members.

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