encyclo - 1:56 am on Jan 8, 2010 (gmt 0)

CNNIC made some serious strategic errors in the past which cheapened the value of the .CN domain space. I'm Canadian, and I'm a strong supporter of the "Canadian presence requirements" for .ca domains (which incidentally account for both expats and trademark-holders) - so I agree with ccTLDs implementing registration rules which aim to conserve a strong correlation between the ccTLD and the country.

However, in this case the background is not just the issue of spammers and foreigners misusing .cn domains. The primary aim of the Chinese authorities is clearly to increase control of the ownership and content of sites in the .cn space. The new rules are everything to do with censorship, the spam issue is a diversion.