Great progress has been made in the crackdown on online porn, Li Jiaming, director of the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre (CIIRC), said on April 27, during an interview with xinhuanet.com.

Li Jiaming, director of China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre, talks with netizens during an interview with xinhuanet.com on April 27, 2010.

Since its founding in 2004, CIIRC has handled more than 1.5 million reports of illegal online content. It has also asked Chinese websites to remove some 1.9 million pornographic items. Around 9,000 websites have been told to shut down for rectification.

The Internet is boundless and the fight against online porn is strenuous, Li said. Many porn websites are located outside China, and Chinese-based sites are trying to relocate their servers to other countries.

To ensure a secure online environment, the government needs to take comprehensive measures, but netizens also need to exercise self-discipline, Li said.

Many parents and teachers in China are in a dilemma about whether to allow children to surf online. The Internet is a great way to learn about the world but if children are exposed to harmful content, they may be influenced unconsciously and their behavior may change.

Li Jiaming said foreign countries have strict rules on Internet content. Some countries have adopted a classification system for websites, and some strictly forbid child pornography. The European Union has established a network and information security agency whose primary mission is to handle online secessionist information and child pornography.