China may have an enviable reputation when it comes to its generous bandwidth and cheap Internet connectivity, but all that comes to a naught when you realize how tightly they censor the Internet, completely limiting its scope. Everywhere else the Internet may be the final bastion of free speech, but speaking too freely over there is most likely to get you into a 'reeducation camp'; that is, if you are lucky.

In their single minded endeavor to create a "harmonious online environment" and prevent the "poisoning" of young minds, the Chinese have rummaged through websites numbering 1.8 million, and have terminated 60,000 pornographic websites. This is in addition to 3,000 unregistered websites nuked pre-emptively and the conviction of almost 5,000 people in this connection. Spanning over six months, the crackdown was a joint operation between nine central government agencies with scary names, including State Council Information Office, State Office of Anti-pornography and Anti-illegal Publications.

This crackdown has cost the agencies 5,26,000 yuan (Rs. 36 lakh approx.), amongst 516 porn informers, which, I must admit, sounds like an enviable job profile. This is in addition to 1,60,000 tip-offs received from citizens, which includes 20 mothers instated by the Yunnan Branch of China Mobile to spy on their teenagers. As bad and ridiculously expensive as the Internet connectivity here may be, stuff like this makes even that seem better in comparison.