In 2006 China's Internet watchdog got more than 140,000 complaints about harmful online information and ordered 2,745 items to be deleted, announced the China Internet Association Monday.

 

The significant gap between the two figures was due to information overlap in many instances, the association's councilor, Hu Qiheng, told a symposium in Beijing. "The prolonged disposal of the information owing to our limited capacity aggravated the overlap," explained the councilor. 

 

Harmful online information included junk e-mails, fake news or information, pornographic images and items carrying viruses, said the association.

 

Since last April when Beijing-based www.qianlong.com initiated a campaign to clean-up the Internet over 160 websites across China have joined them. 

 

China's Internet environment was improving due to the self-discipline of websites, said Cai Mingzhao, deputy head of China's State Council Information Office.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)