Also Friday, Parliament declared amnesty for nine Chechen rebels captured in a Russian assault on a village where the separatists were holding hostages last month. The amnesty was given so that the rebel captives can be traded for 12 Russian policemen still held hostage. It applies only if the prisoner swap takes place. What's more, Chinese businesses will no longer be permitted to electronically import financial news from abroad. Effective immediately, there is a temporary moratorium on new addresses and a mandate that all users connect through a government ministry.
Some analysts say they believe it's a combination of anxiety and greed.
In the case of the Internet, the fear apparently stems from too much information percolating into the country. But the reason for clamping down on financial wire services is more self-serving, observers say. Wire services provide banks and stock markets in China with real-time satellite financial information, and observers say some in the state want a piece of the action. In the near future, instead of companies like Reuters or Dow Jones dealing directly with their clients, the government-run news agency will supervise distribution and content. That is not the case when it comes to business.