Blogwatch: Jun. 20, 2005

To fortify the Great Firewall of CHINA, Beijing last week ordered all Chinese websites to register with authorities by June 30--or get yanked off the Web. The goal appears to be to limit the independence of domestic websites and blogs, which played a key role in organizing anti-Japanese protests this spring. Even so, many website operators don't see registration as surrender. "The government can close us down whenever it wants anyway," says a registrant who administers a site urging legal reforms. "So registering doesn't make much difference."