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China arrests or warns 60 for spreading rumors
2007-08-22
Police in east China have arrested or warned 60 people for spreading rumors by SMS or on the Internet so far this year and specified the threat of modern communications to society, state media said on Tuesday. China has an army of cyber-police who patrol the Internet for unfavorable content, but their targets are more often politically sensitive subjects than pornography. Xia Cunxi, a public security spokesman in the eastern province of Jiangsu, said 60 were accused of spreading rumors, lies or offensive messages, the official China Daily said in its online edition. "rumors spread by modern means of communication can be a greater menace to society than those spread by word of mouth," Xia was quoted as saying. The report did not specify how the cases were dealt with or how many suspects were arrested and charged. In one case, police in July detained two men who sent text messages to more than 200 relatives or friends, claiming people with AIDS were spreading the disease by using toothpicks at restaurants and returning them to their containers, it said. An Internet posting alleged that police chased a man riding a motorcycle with his son on the back, causing the death of the son who had won a place in a prestigious university. In April, police launched an immediate investigation after a posting claimed a school in Jiangsu would be the site of a shooting spree with a death toll exceeding that of the Virginia Tech shootings in the United States just days earlier.
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