China cracks down on illegal publications, online porn

China has confiscated about 1.5 million illegal publications and shut down many pornographic websites amid a nationwide crackdown launched early January.

More than 700,000 pirated books were seized in Beijing during the campaign, according to the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications.

Around 500,000 illegal compact discs and 110,000 pirated works of the late Chinese martial arts novelist Jin Yong, also known as Louis Cha, were confiscated by local authorities in Tianjin.

Meanwhile, regulators in Shanghai deleted over 31,000 items of harmful information and punished 7,871 accounts for violations of law and regulations.

Authorities in Hubei shut down 41 websites containing obscene content and deleted more than 40,000 pieces of harmful information.

The office said it was open to any public tip-offs regarding illegal publications and online porn.