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China abandons blog identity plan China abandons blog identity plan
(about 2 hours later)
China has decided to abandon the idea of requiring internet users to identify their real names when they register for blogs, according to state media. The Chinese government is backing down from plans to force millions of Chinese bloggers to register their real names.
This is a rare reprieve in a country known for strictly monitoring the activities of its internet users. There are an estimated 20 million bloggers in the country and the plans announced last year provoked huge protest from Chinese internet users.
At the time, the government said it thought the system would make bloggers more responsible for their behaviour.
But Chinese bloggers condemned the proposal as an attempt by the government to control information.
China regularly blocks websites that do not agree with government views.China regularly blocks websites that do not agree with government views.
The original plan to identify bloggers by their real names was part of President Hu Jintao's campaign to "purify" the internet. The new code encourages bloggers to register with their real names and personal details, and promises to provide better services for those who do so.
China has the second largest number of internet users in the world, after the US, and is home to more than 20 million blogs, according the news agency Xinhua. The blog phenomenon
Chinese bloggers were informed late last year about the plan to make them register their names and identify themselves to the government. Bloggers have now broadly welcomed the new code.
The internet industry complained about the decision, as did many Chinese users. Ping Ke, one of the most famous bloggers and podcasters in China told the BBC that the government's change of plans is a big improvement.
According to reports, the government had been planning this real-name system for years in efforts to control slander and pornography, and force bloggers to watch their words on the web. Blogs have become a way of spreading news in China"They are not forcing, but suggesting and encouraging people to do things now."
But scrapping the plan will not stop the government from policing the internet, analysts say. Another famous blogger, Wang Xiaofeng, is opposed to bloggers being forced to register their real names.
There are an estimated 30-40,000 internet police who regularly search the web for negative material - a censorship system dubbed the "great Firewall of China." "I'd rather have the bad language than real-name registration," he writes.
Now, the government will just promote, but not mandate, the idea, as part of a 'self-discipline' code. "Uncivilised is one of the characteristics of the internet. We are uncivilised, and the internet reflects that fact."
Fang Xingdong, The chairman of Bokee, one of the first blog providers in China, also told the BBC that the government made a rational decision to let bloggers stand on their own.
"The new code won't bring in any new changes, we won't be providing any new services for people who want to register with their real names. People would rather write anonymously and we respect that."
Blogging has gradually become a way for people to find out information in China.
Popular blogs get millions of hits every day, reposting information that can not get through in mainstream media.
The government had been arguing that real-name registration would protect internet users from libel, pornography and dissemination of other ¿harmful¿ information.