Reading through acres of t+c for registering website names today at Godaddy, I came across what it takes to make your domain a .cn. It was interesting to see what is involved, legally at least, in owning virtual real estate behind the great firewall of the Middle Kingdom.
Quite a lot, it turns out:
You may not register or use a domain name that is deemed by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) to:
1. Be against the basic principles prescribed in the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC);
2. Jeopardize national security, leak state secrets, intend to overturn the government, or disrupt the state of integrity of the PRC;
3. Harm national honor and national interests of the PRC;
4. Instigate hostility or discrimination between different nationalities, or disrupt the national solidarity of the PRC;
5. Violate the PRC’s religion policies or propagate cult and feudal superstition;
6. Spread rumors, disturb public order or disrupt social stability of the PRC;
7. Spread pornography, obscenity, gambling, violence, homicide, terror or instigate crimes in the PRC;
8. Insult, libel against others and infringe other people s legal rights and interests in the PRC; or
9. Take any other action prohibited in laws, rules and administrative regulations of the PRC.
No rumours or obscenity? No insults or libel? No gambling or pornography? Wait, the internet does other things as well?
But seriously, last time I was there, Wikipedia and even Livejournal were blocked. I had to go cold turkey from both exhibitionistic diaries of Bullimic Goth-self-harmers (and their cats) and Consensus Reality: According to Somebody.
Also, according to the Chinese rules of the internet, the internet is not to be used to propagate cults or superstition.
Mind you, this an administration which recently, and very publicly, banned the Dalai Lama from reincarnating without permission, appoints its own Catholic bishop and which still arrests people for smuggling in suitcases full of bibles.
