China bans news gathering by some online portals

China’s internet regulator has put a halt to original reporting by some of the country’s biggest online news portals, the latest step in President Xi Jinping’s bid to curb the nation’s media. According to the Financial Times, the move, which may force Sina and other internet companies to abandon their newsgathering operations, is the clearest signal yet that in Mr. Xi’s China the state aims to have complete control over dissemination of news. It comes four months after Mr. Xi made a highly publicized tour of the three pillars of Chinese party-state propaganda — Xinhua news agency, the People’s Daily newspaper, and China Central Television — emphasizing the need to put fealty to the party above all else.