89 fraudulent Chinese websites closed

BEIJING - Chinese authorities have closed 89 websites for fraudulent activities in the name of government organs or charity groups, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the State Internet Information Office.

Many of the websites, tackled in a spate of closures beginning in March, claimed to serve anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies. Their operators would fabricate negative news stories and threaten to post them online if the organizations or individuals targeted didn't pay hush money, said the statement.

In other cases, counterfeit media licenses and journalist certificates were on sale for thousands of yuan each in the name of administrative organs.

"Some of these websites even formed alliances to jointly demand ransoms from organizations, companies and individuals, causing severe damage. The closure of these sites has won support from various social circles," according to the statement.

In a case revealed in March by the Ministry of Public Security, police shut down a fake police website and arrested four suspects.

The website, named "China Internet supervision and investigation authority," pledged to help consumers who had "fallen victim to online fraud" recover their losses, but required them to pay service fees or deposits.

The office vowed in the statement to continue to crack down on fraudulent websites and ensure the order of the Internet.

In another move to promote a healthy online environment, the office has led several other government organizations, including the ministries of culture and public security, in opening an awards scheme that will honor 100 "civilized websites" nationwide.

The selection, with two categories (news and government websites, and websites for commercial and other purposes), will be conducted through stages including content appraisal, questionnaires, online polling and supervisory evaluations.

Websites registered in China can submit their applications from August, and the appraisal and selection process will kick off in October with third-party supervision by the China Internet Network Information Center.