Georg Blume was investigating the environmental impact of a dam project on the Nu River. Government tightens internet controls.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – The China correspondent for German news weekly Die Zeit, Georg Blume, was arrested for conducting "illegal interviews" about the environmental impact of a dam project on the Nu River. Blume was released five hours later after documents related to a report he was working on concerning the dams were destroyed. He was forced to leave the area immediately.

This case shows that the Chinese government is serious about restricting information. In truth, the State Council announced that blogs will be subject to tighter controls.

On Tuesday the chatroom of Henan-based Cat898.com released a statement saying that with few exceptions news with a political content will no longer be published.

Site chief editor Mu Mu said: "Our administrators will delete all irregular, hazardous and sensitive messages". The next day, message traffic dropped by almost one-third.

Mu said even though the site was required to focus more on other topics like culture and the economy, some political issues such as corruption could also be regarded as cultural. "Social conflict," he said, "is sharp, and the forum websites help act as pressure valves".

But the People's Daily yesterday ran an interview with an official from the internet bureau of the State Council's Information Office, who said that "the application of new technology cannot be independent from social administration".

• china
• beijing
• henan
• nu
• river
• die
• zeit
• georg
• blume
• tightened
• controls
• internet