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SCMP Reporter

A mainland campaign against obscenity on the internet has exposed cases of underaged involvement in online video-porn chat rooms, prompting central authorities to warn the country's youth to steer clear of pornographic sites.

The campaign was launched a month ago by three state agencies - the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Council's Information Office - to target online commercial strip shows and private nude-video parties.

Xu Jianzhuo , from the Public Security Ministry's internet information supervision department, said the campaign had revealed cases of minors visiting and  participating in the pornographic chat rooms.

'We found that there were many minors badly affected by the pornographic displays,' he said.

'Internet [nude] shows can spread to the public, especially among teenagers, and will bring major detrimental effects.'

He said that in one case in Beijing, a 16-year-old organised and performed in  online pornographic shows.

'In Hebei, we investigated a case involving a group broadcasting nude shows to overseas web visitors. One of the participants was only 16,' Mr Xu said. Some chat room participants performed for  private groups, while others charged registration fees to visitors.

Mr Xu said  authorities had dealt with more than 90 cases of online obscenity and detained 216 suspects since the campaign began.

Some internet users have expressed concern that police are invading personal privacy and should focus instead on more urgent issues such as fighting corruption.

The West Business News reported that three men in Lanzhou, Gansu, were apprehended in September for chatting and broadcasting online with friends while they were naked.

Mr Xu said: 'There is no need to worry about this privacy issue. We are fighting organised online nude activities.'

Zhang Shuyi, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, said  the authorities often enforced laws at the cost of privacy.

'That's because in China, before the 1980s, individual rights were neglected,' he said.

Pornography and privacy issues also crossed paths in 2002 when a villager in Yanan, Shaanxi, was detained for watching an erotic video at home with his wife. He was released soon after a local newspaper published his case and generated nationwide criticism about the police action.



Under-aged performers lured to video-porn chat rooms