An official in charge of the country's press and publication said recently that China banned 60 illegal newspapers and periodicals in order to protect intellectual property rights and bring about an orderly market for publications.

This is the fourth time since 2004 that China has issued a list of illegal newspapers and periodicals, which are "the garbage of the cultural market," according to a decree issued by the Administration of Press and Publication (APP) [usually called GAPP] recently.

APP deputy director Liu Binjie said Chinese law stipulates that no individual or organization is allowed to publish, print, circulate or import publications without official approval.

Liu, who is in charge of the country's struggle against pornographic and illegal publications, warned that some foreign language publications aimed mainly at foreigners working in China are illegal because they are either not officially approved or published through illegal channels.

Liu urged legal domestic foreign language publishers to meet the needs of foreign readers and said, "Foreign readers working inChina could also order foreign language newspapers or periodicals through the country's authorized publications trading companies."

The odd thing about this story is that there does not seem to be any mention of it on Xinhua's Chinese website.

The organization that usually issues official notices about banned publications is the 'Clean Up Pornography and Get Rid of Illegal Publications Group' (logo pictured above). Their website is currently not functioning.

LINK:
Xinhua: Nation bans 60 illegal newspapers