China shuts down website

The internet is booming in China

China has suspended a financial website for spreading rumours which it says damaged the government's image.

The clampdown comes as the authorities draw up new rules governing news content on the internet.

The website, China Finance Information Network, was suspended and fined 15,000 yuan ($1,800), the official Wenhui Daily newspaper said.

"China Finance Information Network downloaded and spread rumours that damaged the government's image," it added, quoting an announcement by the Wuhan Public Security Bureau.

Corruption

An announcement posted on the home page of cfi.net.cn said the 15-day suspension was due to the publication of a Hong Kong newspaper article about corruption by a provincial official.

China is worried about the power of the internet

"An investigation by government authorities showed the news article was untrue and the website had trespassed on the person's reputation and affected foreign investment," the website announcement said.

It did not elaborate on how foreign investment had been harmed.

Threat

The website, which has had 13.6 million visitors since its launch in April 1999, is owned by Zhongcai Information Industry Co Ltd.

Beijing is worried about the internet's threat to its strict controls on media and news content.

In April, China set up the Internet Information Management Bureau to regulate news on websites.

Its ambiguous mandate includes countering the "infiltration of harmful information on the internet".

Controls

In a report in the Liberation Daily, the bureau's chief Wang Qingcun was quoted as saying that new website rules are likely to be drawn up by the end of June.

He suggested these may limit sites to using authorised reports from domestic news agencies.

Industry analysts say controls on internet content may dent the interest of websurfers.

Many Chinese, bored with state-owned news sites, look for more rapid reports available on commercial sites.