The Cyberspace Administration of China announced Tuesday that its month-long internet “purification” campaign is intended to create a “healthy, happy, and peaceful online environment.”
The powerful internet watchdog – which President Xi Jinping set up in 2014 in the name of protecting China’s internet and data security – tied the campaign to the start of the Lunar New Year, a major festival that runs from January 31 to February 6.
According to the cyberspace agency’s plan, the homepages of key media sites, trending topic search lists, push pop-up windows, and important news content pages must be carefully managed to present “positive information.” It added that obscene, vulgar, bloody, violent and other illegal or bad information should be eradicated to create a “positive online atmosphere.”
Other “bad” behaviors targeted by the regulator include those that show off wealth or worship money, those that feature over-eating or drinking, and those that advocate or practice fortune-telling on the internet.
– CNN’s Beijing bureau contributed to this report.