China's communist regime restricting news of Egypt unrest

Shocking! Or, least surprising news of the day.

Keyword searches on the protests returned no results Monday on microblogs and reader discussion of news reports about Egypt was disabled on major portals as China’s pervasive censorship apparatus swung into full gear.

News coverage of the demonstrations against the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was limited to sparse accounts that largely glossed over the underlying political factors and calls for democracy.

Coverage instead stressed Cairo’s lawlessness and the need for order — echoing calls by China’s foreign ministry — and the government’s plan to send two chartered jets to Cairo to bring home more than 500 stranded Chinese.

Photos from Egypt were conspicuously absent from major Chinese newspapers, while Monday’s state news broadcast omitted footage of protests, instead showing Mubarak meeting top officials.