China: 197 people punished over stock market, Tianjin explosion rumours
Beijing, Aug 31: A journalist and stock market officials among 197 people punished in China for spreading rumours online about the recent stock market crash and fatal explosions in Tianjin, media reported.
At
least
150
people
were
killed
23
still
missing
and
over
300
people
sustained
injuries
in
the
fatal
explosions
in
Tianjin
on
August
12.
Chinese
shares
fell
by
nearly
8%
after
a
week
of
volatile
trading
that
spread
fear
to
global
markets,
reported
BBC
on
Sunday
citing
Xinhua.
Chinese authorities tightly control information online and have previously prosecuted internet users for spreading rumours.
In 2013 Chinese authorities introduced a possible three-year sentence for spreading rumours - the sentence was supposed to apply to anyone who posted a rumour that was reposted 500 times or viewed 5,000 times.
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In 2014, blogger Qin Zhihui was given three years jail term, the first person to be sentenced in a government-led crackdown on internet rumours.
OneIndia News