China police stop spread of Egypt news: activist

Source: Agence France-Presse

BEIJING — Police in southwest China have barred activists from distributing leaflets about anti-government protests in Egypt and Tunisia, deeming the news too sensitive, one dissident said Wednesday.

Activists in Guizhou province tried to hand out information about the demonstrations over the weekend, but police told them this was an "unusual period" and gave them 3,000 yuan ($450) to stop, Chen Xi told AFP.

The police paid the money to compensate for losses incurred from the printing costs, and when the activists tried to distribute more information in Guiyang city on Monday, police again barred them from doing so, Chen said.

"We do this (hand out leaflets) all the time but the police believe it's an unusual time right now -- they don't want to let Chinese people know about the situation in North Africa," he said.



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