China’s top media regulator this week requested online writers and bloggers to register their real names in a bid to tighten control over the nation’s vibrant online literature scene. The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), which issued the guidelines to its subordinated organs, said the move was aimed at controlling the quality of China's online literature and ensuring the healthy development of the industry. The guidelines published on the administration’s website this week also ordered online publishers and editors to register themselves with the regulator to help enforce discipline in a sector besieged by problems relating to plagiarism, privacy and quality. Other measures mentioned in the guidelines include establishing a literature rating system, strengthening the protection of authors’ copyright and cracking down on pornographic content online. The guidelines echo President Xi Jinping’s emphasis on regulating the internet since he took over as party chief in late 2012. In a high-profile cultural symposium Xi chaired in Beijing last October, he singled out two bloggers known for patriotic-style of writing and encouraged them to “produce more works with a ‘positive energy’.” Fang Zhouzi, a popular-science writer and avid blogger, feared the new guidelines could lead to an end to anonymous blogging and increased internet censorship. “Does it imply the revocation of all non-autonym blogs, and all autonym blogs being subject to screenings before publication?” Fang questioned in a Twitter post. China’s online literature has developed into a booming industry over the past decade, helped by its claim to the world's largest internet user base, which stood at of 618 million by the end of 2013. The official Internet Network Information Centre said China has approximately 289 million consumers of internet literature. Beijing-based internet consultancy Enfodesk estimated the industry could be worth seven billion yuan by the end of 2015, a 17 per cent increase from last year. Some of China's best-selling authors, such as 31-year-old writer-publisher Guo Jingming, started their writing careers with online literature websites and blogs. Guo, whose publishing and media business has grown into film-making with the blockbuster Tiny Times franchise in the last two years, had a personal wealth of about 700 million yuan by late 2013.
