China to launch anti-porn campaign

BEIJING - A campaign to crack down on the spread of pornographic and vulgar information on the Internet will be launched in China.

The campaign aims to create a "benign Internet environment" for the Chinese youth during the summer holiday, which lasts from July to the end of August, the State Internet Information Office (SIIO), said in a statement Tuesday.

The office is one of the nine government agencies that jointly launched the campaign.

The campaign will target porn websites, online games, online advertisements, web pages, columns, forums, blogs, microblogs and social network websites.

Websites and online games will be shut down if they are found to contain pornographic information, it said.

Government agencies will also carry out checks on shops selling electronic or audio-visual products and Internet bars to eradicate the spread of pornography, according to the statement.

A SIIO spokesperson said the office will make "unremitting efforts" to crack down on the spread of pornographic and vulgar information on the Internet.

Other government agencies taking part in the campaign include the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, as well as the public security, industry and information technology, and culture ministries.