China orders shut down of 8,000 CyberCafes

[NoCtrl]

It would be interesting to read the rules they have to follow. I wish there would have been a link.

The article makes it seem like the closures are simply because a company failed to pay its taxes. I'll bet there is a little bit more to it.

[steev]

There is a slight elaboration of the China Net caff story on theregister.co.uk, which mentions the "government" departments involved...

[Richard_Cranium72]

Tis a very Sad move for hopes that China would continue to move towards a "civilized" nation and not one of oppression and rule by "the Iron Fist"

One wonders if the nations rulers are sane or truly acting in what they percieve as in the best interest of their country.

So much education is to be gleaned from internet connection,, and virtually for FREE


"Nearly 2,000 Internet cafes across China have been forced to shut down during a recent three-month examination.

Another 6,000 Internet cafes were ordered to suspend operations and make changes, according to incomplete statistics"

&

"However, there were some problems behind the door. Some children who were so indulged in the Internet bars that parents were very worried about their psychological and physical health."

Not surprising coming from a country just emerging from the dark ages; DrVette

"What was more serious is that some net cafes frequently visited by teenagers were flooded with pornographic or violent content"

I think some American parents would be concerned if they checked the "History" on their kids computers; DrVette


"The latest statistics show that the number of the Internet surfers in China had reached 26 million by the end of June, 2001, up 56.8 percent from the same period last year. "

Quite a paltry figure since China houses over 3 billion People; DrVette

http://english.eastday.com/epublish/...4/hwz56214.htm

[slacker85]

I agree with Doc in that 26 million people is a small number when considering the total population of China.

But what if the government did allow internet access to almost everyone. My hometown boasts about 6 million people alone. If everyone got a computer to access the internet, think how much frustration that would cause. No government can monitor everything that passes through the net and some are bound to wind up in bad hands. Children would wander from schooling and stare at a screen all day (I went back to visit a few years ago and saw this bunch of kids in a public computer gaming room. I went back to check on them throughout the day, and found them glued to the computers. Done this for about a week, found the same big group there everyday--what a waste of time.)

Of course the internet is a good place to learn new stuff, but like Doc said, it also has a bunch of bad stuff too, like porn and weapons-making, other violent stuff, etc. So I guess the government's trying to restrict the internet to government, economical, and educational usage, but not recreational. The net can be just as addictive as drugs.

[daveleau]

Yes, I got the link for the Register and then went to their sorce, which had more info.

[doodoo]

I currently live in China(Hong Kong) too and I see why they're closing(or just inspecting) internet cafes. At first, teenagers shouldn't be permitted to buy alcohol or maybe even enter such places. The condition of these internet cafes isn't what you call a cafe as such, but a bar. People smoke, drink alcohol, and oh yeah, even take drugs there. The condition is getting too serious, and if the Chinese government doens't do anything about it, it'll only get worse. People care for their children, and I believe the government is being very responsible here to look after its people.

[Surrea1]

This happens sometimes, we just didn't know the full story. The news tells you only things that they may want you to hear.

[phenious]

"I think some American parents would be concerned if they checked the "History" on their kids computers; DrVette"

Sadly we now know how to selectivly remove entries to prevent things....I think most parents know what is really happening... but just live in denile

-: another kid in the cafe' :-

[This message has been edited by phenious (edited 07-25-2001).]

[jmetz]

Since every internet user has had to register
to use an Internet Cafe the govrenment has sucessfully identified the potential technicaly savy disidents

How long will it take to start arresting them?

The bigger question won't be answered until
2008. Will international visitors be able to use their computers, handhelds cell phones without being monitored and subject to arrest.

Have we all forgotten the TenimanSquare method of communication FAX Machines and that they are now all registered in China?

I'm quite sure that the government of China hasn't forgotten the embaresment of those days,nor the fact that the world has never considered the full impact of what was crushed then and is being crushed now.

Hong Kong may be next in being surpressed
since they are losing thier self government
rights as we write today.