China Restricts Anti-Western Remarks

Censors in China have told Internet companies to delete anti-Western remarks from their Web sites amid fears the rhetoric could harm Beijing’s Summer Games.

A notice issued by China’s Internet Inspection Sector tells recipients to reset keywords used to block access to certain Web sites, among other actions, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Internet users are in a most intense mood toward Western countries, the notice said. Such information has shown a tendency to spread and, if not checked in time, could even lead to events getting out of control as they did with the April 9 incident against Japan.

In April 2005, demonstrators attacked Japan’s embassy in Beijing and consulate in Shanghai, burned Japanese goods and beat Japanese citizens in part because of Tokyo’s bid to join the U.N. Security Council, the newspaper said.