Microblogs resume normal service following crackdown

China’s two largest microblog sites resumed normal service Tuesday after barring users from commenting on other microblog accounts for three days on government orders, AP reported. Sina’s (SINA.NASDAQ) Weibo.com and Tencent’s (0700.HKG) t.qq.com shut down the commenting feature in a move to clean up illegal and harmful information after websites circulated information on the downfall of a prominent Communist Party official, Bo Xilai, and subsequent rumors of a coup in Beijing. China has arrested 1,065 suspects and deleted more than 208,000 “harmful” online messages in a nationwide crackdown on internet-related crimes since mid-February, Xinhua News Agency reported March 31, citing an unnamed spokesman from the Beijing City Police. The Beijing Police said March 30 that they had detained six people for “fabricating and spreading rumors” online and forced 16 websites to close. Shares of Sina slid to close at US$63.66 apiece on Tuesday, their lowest closing price in five weeks.