China to clampdown on harmful publications targeting children

China today launched an eight-month nationwide campaign to clampdown on the creation and dissemination of illegal and harmful children's publications, including pornographic ones, which are sold near schools.
The nationwide campaign, which lasts from February to September, aims to uncover books, cartoons and games which are deemed harmful to children being sold around primary and middle schools, a circular posted on the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said.
Sales of publications that promote heresy, superstition, obscenity, violence, instigate crimes, or are found to contain content which is "horrific or cruel," are prohibited, according to the circular.
The campaign will also clean up online social networks that disseminate harmful online games, novels, music, cartoons, to children and the youth, it said.

Such websites and applications will be shut down, banned, and operators will be held accountable, it added.
The clampdown is one of several campaigns the office and other government agencies have embarked on since early this year to weed out illegal and pornographic publications and information both online and offline, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
In 2015, campaigns of similar nature confiscated more than 15 million illegal publications and shut down 28,000 websites deemed pornographic or featuring other illegal content, figures from the office showed, the report said.