Chinese authorities have issued an order to impose “Internet shut down policy” on any websites that are deemed to have “information security violations” from July 25 to August 25. Subsequently, Internet hosting companies issued notices to their clients notifying them of the tightened measures. Some even gave monetary reward to those sites who chose to temporarily shutdown during Beijing Olympic.
Source: Radio Free Asia, July 23, 2008 http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/fengwang-07232008131744.html