2012-03-31

Chinese microblog services shut down comments system; Nanfang Daily reports on coup rumors, 6 bloggers detained; Government criticizes microblog services

Sina Weibo is shitting down it's comments for 4 days in order to delete comments concerning recent events in China. Nanfang Daily newspaper reports on the rumors, blasting it across the front page, and says 6 bloggers have been taken into custody. I assume that the comment system has been shut down now that they have the source of the rumors, making it easier for them to track the spread of comments and to delete "sensitive" comments.
Weibo Notice

You microblogging users:
  more rumors and other illegal and harmful information, the micro-blog in the comment thread. In order to concentrate on cleaning up, at 8:00 on March 31st to April 3, 2008 the morning of 8 pm, to suspend the functions of micro-blog comments. After clean up, we will again open comments. The clean-up of the necessary information, in order to facilitate the exchange environment, to provide better understanding and understanding of the hope that the majority of users. Thank you for your support.

Sina microblogging
March 31, 2012
新浪微博公告

各位微博用户:
  最近,微博客评论跟帖中出现较多谣言等违法有害信息。为进行集中清理,从3月31日上午8时至4月3日上午8时,暂停微博客评论功能。清理后,我们将再开放评论功能。进行必要的信息清理,是为了有利于为大家提供更好的交流环境,希望广大用户理解和谅解。感谢大家的支持。
新浪微博
2012年3月31日

Here's the cover page for Nanfang Daily, March 31, 2012. Here's the link to today's paper: Nanfang Daily. If you get here late, you can use the archive button. It's on the left hand side above the page listing, there's a button that says data next to 按日期查询. Click that to change the date. Below is a screenshot.

Here's the same article, from ifeng.com: 6网民谣传“军车进京、北京出事”被拘 (6 bloggers who spread rumor "military vehicles enter Beijing, something's up in Beijing" have been detained)
CNN reports on the story as well: China crackdown on websites spreading coup rumors
Sina's Weibo and Tencent's QQ -- Chinese versions of Twitter, which is banned in the mainland -- will stop use of comment function on the popular sites to "clean up rumors and other illegal information spread through microbloggings," according to Xinhua.

The comments sections will be disabled until April 3. The microblog sites have "criticized and punished accordingly" by officials in Beijing and Guangdong, state med reported.

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