China launches anti-porn crackdown

The Chinese authorities have begun a three-month drive to seize videos, Compact Discs, tapes and magazines they deem pornographic or reactionary.

A BBC correspondent in Beijing says their definition includes the politically unacceptable.

The head of China's press and publications administration, Yu Youxian, said incentives would be offered for information about illegal publications, and two telephone hotlines would be set up.

He said fifty illegal video CD production lines had already been closed.

A similar campaign last year resulted in the seizure of more than twenty million items.

The official People's Daily newspaper said the lack of good, cheap domestic products made it easier for pirate manufacturers, and our correspondent says rapid changes in consumer tastes are increasing the pressure on domestic publishers to meet the demand.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service