Chinese Force Mass Closure Of Net Cafes

Chien Andalusia writes "According to this article from the BBC, the Chinese authorities closed 12,575 net cafes towards the end of 2004. Due to the expense of computer hardware, net cafés have become very popular in China in recent years. The laws governing such cafés are very strict, especially in relation to minimising the amount of exposure children can get to the internet. For example, no net café is allowed to open within 200 metres of a middle or elementary school. The article also briefly discusses other restrictions imposed on Chinese net cafés."

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Give 'em Alcohol

[schestowitz]

Serve alcohol at the Inertnet cafe and the problem is solved. No controversy either

Re:No Spam

[skids]

That's what happens when you put up a national firewall that lets port 25 thorugh.

Re:Give 'em Alcohol

[Anonymous Coward]

Serve pot and they don't even need Internet access. They'll just sit quietly grooving to the screen saver.

Re:No Spam

[cyberfunk2]

10-4 on that.

However, sometime's it's really quite fun to analyze. The grammar/spelling is so completely apalling sometimes that you could filter on that criterion alone. Hmm... has anyone ever heard of a grammar-based filter that requires you to formulate full english sentences in order to get your mail across ?

That'd be pretty cool. Not only would people become more careful with their spelling/grammar, but we'd also get rid of all those messages that did things like... "PeN iS enlar-gement".

Of course this would sorta put some imposisitions on people who email you... But in a corporate evironment maby ?

Hey, we get cheap stuff at WalMart.

[Anonymous Coward]

Globalism has it's benefits: cheap foreign labor gets our jobs and we get cheap junk at WalMart. It's a win-win situation.

Re:To all America bashers, and China-philes

[planet-sloop]

You'll be eating your words and drinking George Dubbas H2Oil in 15-20 years when china becomes a super power to rival that of former russia

The Children

[Dracolytch]

We will impose our elitist totolitarian regime on you because of the Children! Won't you think of the children? (Thud) How about now? (Whap) Now? Good!

~D

Re:Let's reward them ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Bill Clinton, is that you?

The Censorship Technology Is Good If Used Properly

[Space_Soldier]

We all hate what the Chinese government are doing to their population, but all you admins out there, think about it. Their censorship technology is the best in the world, and it would improve production if it was implemented in USA companies. How would it improve production you ask? It will, for example, keep people from reading Slashdot all day.

Chinese basement nerds of tommorow

[MrLint]

Its a good thing those cafes are 200m away. This is sure to be too far a walk for the chinese computer CHUDs the internet will surely spawn:)

Re:Sigh, Freedom of speech out the window

[quarkscat]

No doubt this is the PRC's way of limiting
the number of dissidents it will have to
arrest. You can't expect their government to
build hundreds of new prisons without having
new labor contracts already signed by Western
corporations. The PRC government does have
rudimentary knowledge about supply and demand,
and staying in the "sweet spot" for labor costs.

Re:Give 'em Alcohol

[gstoddart]

Serve alcohol at the Inertnet cafe and the problem is solved. No controversy either

Oh, sure. Cause what we really need is a half a billion or so more drunk people surfing the web and posting stuff on Slashdot. :-P

Re:And we're surprised why?

[Peldor]

If the Chinese were really totalitarian capitalists, they would have closed the schools that were within 200 meters of the net cafes.

Difference between communism and capitalism

[presarioD]

In communist China you have to ask permission for your basic rights... (and have them refused of course...)

In capitalist US you have to pay for your rights... (again and again and again...)