"Chinese authorities are sending a chill through the country's noisy community of online social commentators as police detained a prominent Web user and state media stepped up calls for a crackdown on what it describes as spreading rumors online.
State media said Sunday that Xue Manzi, a well-known social commentator, angel investor and philanthropist, had been detained on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. It wasn't clear whether Mr. Xue, 60 years old, would face formal charges. A police statement identified a man surnamed Xue as having been detained. Mr. Xue couldn't be reached for comment.
State media said Sunday that Xue Manzi, a well-known social commentator, angel investor and philanthropist, had been detained on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. It wasn't clear whether Mr. Xue, 60 years old, would face formal charges. A police statement identified a man surnamed Xue as having been detained. Mr. Xue couldn't be reached for comment.
News of Mr. Xue's detention rocketed through the Chinese web, where he commands an important presence. He has more than 12 million followers on SinaCorp.'s Weibo microblogging service, where he frequently comments on contemporary social and other issues.
Some online postings said the heavy coverage of the allegations in state media suggested that authorities want to make an example of Mr. Xue, while some wondered if he had been set up. Chinese authorities in the past have used similar charges to discredit and silence political critics.
Mr. Xue's detention follows the arrest in recent weeks of political activists calling for greater government transparency and for officials to disclose their assets. A campaign against the spreading of rumors online has been loudly praised in state media and netted the widely publicized detention of four people in Beijing this past week.
Earlier this month, the head of the State Internet Information Office, which monitors online content, called a group of "big V",(V stands for verified users confirmed by Sina) to a forum and urged them to be more constructive in their social media postings".
Source: WSJ
