After being detained since October 2003, Du Daobin, 40, was formally arrested and charged with subversion today. Xinhua News Agency reported Du posted articles harmful to state security on Chinese Web sites for overseas organizations, in exchange for money.

A spokesman for the Public Security Bureau in China's Hubei province was reported to have said Du posted 28 articles on the Internet which "incited subversion of national power and the overthrow of the nation's socialist system."

The Xinhua report also said Du, who works in an insurance office, confessed to most of the crimes.

In recent months, the Chinese government has increased crackdowns on illegal content on the Internet–especially pornography and politically sensitive materials. A special Internet police task force has been formed, in addition to greater scrutiny placed of the types of sites downloaded by China's netizens.