The Aegean Sea website, commonly known as Aiqinhai
and based in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
, China, was an ideological and humanistic
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
that preached
freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
and
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. The website was founded on May 20, 2001 by
Zhang Jianhong
Zhang Jianhong (張建紅) (March 6, 1958 – December 31, 2010), pen name Li Hong (力虹), was a freelance writer, playwright, poet, democracy and human rights activist in China. He was born on March 6, 1958 in Ningbo city of Zhejiang Province. ...
, who also served as its
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
, and with
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
Bei Dao
Bei Dao (, born August 2, 1949) is the pen name of the Chinese-American writer Zhao Zhenkai (S: 赵振开, T: 趙振開, P: ''Zhào Zhènkāi''). Among the most acclaimed Chinese-language poets of his generation, he is often regarded as a candida ...
as general advisor, and was closed on March 9, 2006.
Aegean Sea boasted itself as "The Last Clean Paradise of Chinese Literatures".
Shutdown
On March 9, 2006, Aegean Sea was shut down by the Zhejiang authorities
for allegedly publishing news in violation of Internet regulations.
References
{{Reflist
Defunct websites
Internet censorship
Internet properties established in 2001
Internet properties disestablished in 2006