The Chinese government, which has long worked to limit the content and availability of Internet services, has taken the bold step of banning outright the creation of new Internet cafes in the country for at least one year. The official reason given for curtailing the rise of these popular teen hang-outs is that they contribute to Internet “addiction” and deliquency.
And, in fact, that’s probably the real reason too. Unlike other Chinese government crack-downs on the Internet, this latest proclamation seems to be driven by the rise of “lingering in Internet bars overnight, puffing on cigarettes and engrossed in online games,” rather than the need to repress dissenting viewpoints.
The government-wide move was preceded by local and regional party injunctions against the opening of new Internet cafes, which, of course, led to the rise of clandestine Internet cafes. The problem is that few Chinese homes have both PCs and Internet connectivity, making Internet cafes all that more important for tapping into the cultural and information boom taking place elsewhere in the world.
There are about 113,000 Internet cafes and bars in China and an estimated 90% of Chinese students visit them. It’s one thing for the government to censor the Internet in order to block citizen access to materials it considers seditious. But, it’s another thing altogether to separate young people from online games — that could be the final straw that sparks an uprising (wishful thinking, perhaps.)
The Chinese government may have finally stepped over the line in its efforts to control the Internet.
Cynthia Brumfield at 12:07 PM|Comments(0)
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