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China Cleans Internet Cafes
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.
The nationwide action of clearing up and rectifying the Internet bars, which started in April, was designed to regulate the Internet service market according to a set of rules jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce in April, 2001.
More than 56,800 Internet cafes or bars have been inspected across the country during the three-month period.
In Nanjing, the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, police have closed down 53 Internet bars and ordered another 59 to suspend operation for rectification and improvement
"The campaign benefits the Internet users the most," said Wang Dongjun, a college student who enjoys surfing the net in a bar.
Those unlicensed net bars offered low-price services by evading tax. But the unfair play degraded service quality at the same time, he said.
The Internet bars have been mushrooming in China since they first appeared in several big cities in 1997. Mini-net bars could be seen in bookstores, barber's shops, clothes shops, or even butcher's shops.
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.
What was more serious is that some Internet cafes frequently visited by teenagers were flooded with pornographic or violent content.
"The examination has breathed a fresh breeze," said Wang, "Bar owners are now trying to improve services and the environment according to our advice."
The MII has announced that no new Internet cafes will be approved before completion of the check.
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.
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