Cyber security. Photo: IC

The judicial department in Pingnan, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has approved the arrest of a college student suspected of promoting terrorism for downloading terrorist videos and audios, according to media reports.

The student, surnamed He, possessed a total of 64 audio and video materials in his cell phone, with content including preaching of terrorism, and bloody violence that involved weapon shooting and killing, according to supervision authorities.

The materials were used by him as a means of escape from the pressure of study during college, the Beijing Daily reported on Saturday, and instead of distributing to others, he only held them himself, and had begun downloading them in 2020.

China lists the possession and sharing of terrorist videos and audios as illegal actions, and they are considered an activity of preaching terrorism and extremism, according to the Cybersecurity Law.

Even without sharing the materials with others, the authorities said that the videos and audios held by He are extremely harmful and could have undermined the stability of society and public safety.

He's case is still ongoing.

This is not the first case of an illegal action regarding the possession or distribution of terrorism-related materials through the internet.

In 2019, a man in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality was detained for 15 days after being found holding and disseminating a video of terrorists shooting hostages, according to the domestic news site cnr.cn.

For more than 20 years, authorities have been tackling the threats of online terrorist videos and audios, in order to crack down on evil forces including separatism, terrorism and extremism, and to secure the network in the Chinese mainland, especially in Xinjiang, according to a Xinjiang anti-terrorism documentary by CGTN on April 4.

The terrorism-related materials targeted specific groups, including women and students, according to the report.

Abduweli, an official who works at the Xinjiang Internet Information Office, told CGTN that since 2012, terrorism-related video and audio materials have increased by 200 to 300 each year.

"The aim of the activity is to cause a maximum impact at minimal cost," added Abduweli.

Mirzat, a police officer in Xinjiang, told CGTN that more than 90 percent of young criminals who participated in terrorist activities in the region had watched similar videos.

Global Times