Nervous China clamps social networks

security response at the weekend, according to GoogleNews.com.

The anonymous campaigners behind the so-called 'Jasmine Rallies' - a reference to the 'Jasmine Revolution' in Tunisia that sparked unrest across the Arab world - said their movement had support in dozens of cities.

In efforts to stave off what it calls “infection” from the Middle East's 'Jasmine Revolution', the Chinese government has intensified its Internet censorship, including closing down the business networking site LinkedIn, says VancouverSun.com.

Chinese Web censors already block popular Western social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but since such sites were used to organise anti-regime rallies in the Middle East, the authorities have intensified their scrutiny of similar local networks.

All references to events in the Middle East and words and phrases like 'Tunisia', 'Egypt' and 'Jasmine Revolution' have been blocked from sites such as the local popular social networking centre Sina.com's Weibo.

Although the campaigners are posting their statements on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which are blocked, they are still managing to create quite a few ripples in mainland China, writes AllHeadlineNews.com.

The latest call for rallies on 6 March comes after a “nervous” Beijing - which crushed the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989 - thwarted marches and protests in Shanghai and Beijing.

An anonymous campaigner posted on a social networking site: “According to the feedback we received, on 27 February, this movement spread to over 100 cities, largely exceeding our initial expectations of 27 cities.”

The campaigner called on people from all walks of life to march for change on 6 March. Another online campaigner said he would salute all those citizens who come forward and participate in this “noble movement”.