February 21, 2010
China urges 'red' texts
In China to celebrate this Spring season, government officials are promoting a "red message" campaign to counter Internet and cell-phone pornography. CRI English reports.
Red messages cover a wide spectrum of issues: from advocating social ethics, to inspiring people, and promotion of a low-carbon lifestyle.
Initially launched in 2005, China Mobile Guangdong provided an economic incentive to writers of red text messages: users whose uploaded text messages are circulated receive 50 percent of the download fees.
China Mobile Guangdong said that by the end of 2009, over 693 writers had been rewarded over 500 yuan ($73).
The term "yellow text message" is widely used in China to describe text messages containing pornography.
According to The Economist, The most famous red-texter is Bo Xilai, the party chief of Chongqing (see article). "Last April he sent 13m-odd mobile-users a message bearing quotes from Mao Zedong such as “What really counts in the world is conscientiousness, and the Communist party is most particular about being conscientious.” Enthused, or more likely bemused, users relayed his missive, reported the local press, 16m times."
Image left of the Economic Daily, Feb 12, 2010 including a short article on "red snippets" posted on Danwei.
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