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SCMP Reporter

Two popular online communities have been shut down by the government, raising concerns that censors are targeting independent internet companies.
BTChina.net,  a start-up video-sharing website that attracted 250,000 visits a day, was shut down for hosting pornographic content.
Yeeyan.com,  a website that shared translated content, was shut for hosting sensitive content that violated government regulations.
BTChina is one of the most high-profile of the 414 video and audio websites shut down this year.
In an interview with Sina.com on Sunday, founder Huang Xiwei   denied hosting pornographic content and said the government was adopting new tactics to control cyberspace.
According to a regulation released by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television  in June last year, video-sharing websites must either be owned by the government or have a registered capital of 20 million yuan (HK$22.7 million).
'BTChina is a community of amateur hobbyists, it is not a business,' Huang said. 
'We refuse to be commercialised. We can't wrestle with government regulations. Now they want us to give up totally, and we must give up totally.
'Video-sharing communities are not the only ones that are affected. Gradually, all websites built and maintained by individuals will become history. The future is blocked.'
Since the regulation was introduced, only government organisations such as China Central Television and China Daily and major media companies like Sohu.com, Sina and Tom.com have gained licences.
In a statement posted on the website, Huang said the Ministry of Information Industry  had deleted the website's registration number, which meant the internet service provider could no longer host the site. 
He denied rumours that he had been arrested.
BTChina was established in 2003 by a group of software engineers using their own time and funds as a community focused on peer-to-peer video content.
In its brief history, it was ordered to remove politically sensitive content and pornography. Huang said he had no choice but to abandon it entirely, despite obeying this rule.
'We can't get a licence,' he said. 'The future of the internet no longer belongs to individuals but business.' 
There was more optimism from Yeeyan, which posted an open letter on its website on December 3 saying it would return. 'Because we have made a few mistakes letting some articles slip through and violated national regulations, the website needs to shut down its server temporarily and adjust relevant content,' the letter said. 'We hope to come back in the near future.'
The website was founded by three Chinese engineers who used to work in Silicon Valley. It was funded by venture capital and ranked 626 in visitor numbers among all mainland websites, according to internet traffic monitor Alexa.



Online communities shut down for hosting porn, 'sensitive' content