Reuters quoted China's official news agency Xinhua as reporting on December 24, 2017 that China has closed more than 13,000 websites since the beginning of 2015 for breaking the law or other rules and that the vast majority of people support government efforts to clean up cyberspace. A report to the on-going session of the NPC Standing Committee said the authorities had targeted pornography and violence. Xinhua added that in addition to the 13,000 websites shut down, almost 10 million accounts had also been closed by websites,, but gave no details. The accounts were likely on social media platforms. Xinhua observed "Internet security concerns the party's long-term hold on power, the country's long-term peace and stability, socio-economic development and the people's personal interests". More than 90 percent of people surveyed supported government efforts to manage the internet, with 63.5 percent of them believing that in recent years there has been an obvious reduction in harmful online content, it said.

 (Comment: The government has stepped up already tight controls over the internet since President Xi Jinping took power five years ago, in what critics say is an effort to restrict freedom of speech and prevent criticism of the ruling Communist Party.)