China ‘Punishes’ 197 People for ‘Spreading Rumors’ Online About Tianjin Explosion, Stock Market Crash

Update: It is now being reported that China just suffered another massive explosion, this time in Shandong.

One hundred and ninety seven people have been punished by Chinese authorities under what Reuters has called a “special campaign” to stop Chinese people from “spreading rumors” online regarding the recent, yet officially still unexplained explosions in Tianjin and China’s recent stock market tumble.The accused are presumed by most media outlets reporting on this to have been detained.

At least 165 online accounts have also been forcibly closed down for “relevant violations“.

The country’s Public Security Ministry has reportedly stated “such behaviour needs to be wiped out”. The government claimed those detained are being punished because they, “caused panic, misled the public and resulted in disorders in stock market or society.”

According to the statement, these people are punished for circulating rumors such as “man jumped to death in Beijing due to stock market slump,” “at least 1,300 people were killed in Tianjin blasts” and some seditious rumors about China’s upcoming commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. (source)

So not just rumors but “seditious rumors”.

If Chinese news is anything like American news, it’s all propaganda so who knows what a rumor really is anyway. Our government probably wishes it could shut every alternative news website down right now the way China is shutting these people up.

Some have been forced to make televised confessions, something that is apparently common in China. This happened to a Chinese journalist for reporting on the stock market back in July:

Mr. Wang wrote an article published on July 20 by Caijing that said the China Securities Regulatory Commission was seeking to withdraw funds from the stock market. The police detained Mr. Wang on Aug. 25, and Caijing issued a statement saying it did not know why he had been detained. On Friday, his article was still up on Caijing’s website, but it has since been taken down.

Xinhua said that Mr. Wang’s July report had caused “abnormal fluctuations” in the stock market.

In his videotaped statement, Mr. Wang asked for leniency. He appeared in a light-green polo shirt rather than the orange prison garb worn by others who have made recent televised confessions in cases involving different accusations.

Here in America, outlet Natural News recently reported that Mainland Chinese dissidents tipped Mike Adams off that the Tianjin explosion was actually caused by an American kinetic space-based weapon (like one openly discussed in this Rand Corporation report, for example) and that it was retaliation for deliberate Yuan currency devaluation.

The story came complete with pictures of military helicopters patrolling Beijing and a warning that America and China are currently already at war, it is just that no one has officially announced it yet:

Chinese dissidents have told Natural News they have reason to believe the attack on Tianjin is a warning shot from the United States, which is terrified that China is on the verge of announcing its own gold-backed currency while declaring a fire sale on U.S. debt holdings.

The actions would collapse the U.S. dollar and destroy the U.S. economy, sending the United States into economic freefall. The “Rod of God” weapon deployment by the U.S. Pentagon, we’re told, was America’s “shot across the bow” to send a powerful warning message to China while disguising the attack as a domestic chemical explosion.

Back on August 16, Obama did warn about covert Chinese agents operating in the U.S. We have also seen a lot of curious technical failures lately that have been referred to as “glitches” in our media here…