China will not allow any new Internet bars to open in 2007,
according to a joint directive issued on March 3 by 14 government
departments including the Ministry of Culture, State Administration
for Industry and Commerce and Ministry of Information Industry. The
directive added that any Internet bars approved prior to 2007 must
be completed before June 30, 2007.
There are currently about 113,000 Internet bars in China,
according to the Ministry of Information Industry.
The notice further confirmed that anyone under 18 is not allowed
inside Internet bars. Any Internet bar found in breach of this law
on two occasions will be closed for 15 days and fined. A third
offence will see their business license revoked. However, such
administrative regulations are not carried out seriously in some
areas.
School-run Internet bars must be directly managed by the school,
with no drive for profit-making or leasing to private individuals,
the notice stated.
Yu Wen, a Chinese lawmaker, encouraged the drafting of a law
specifically targeted at better regulating the operation of
Internet bars to better protect teenagers.
A deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), Yu called for more effective measures to
help keep teenagers out of Internet bars.
"It is common to see students from primary and middle schools
lingering in Internet bars overnight, puffing on cigarettes and
engrossed in online games," said Yu, also chief executive officer
of Xi'an-based Kami Co., Ltd. in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
A never-ending drive for profit has made many Internet bars
allow teenagers into their premises, even selling cigarettes and
alcohol in blatant defiance of government decrees, Yu noted.
Teenage Internet addiction has become a real social problem.
Figures from the China National Children's Center last year claimed
that up to 13 percent of the 18 million Chinese Internet users
under 18 are Internet addicts.
A further worrying report emanated from the Beijing Institute
for juvenile delinquents showed that 33.5 percent of its inmates
committed crimes, mostly robbery and rape, which were directly
influenced by violent online games or erotic Web sites.
A law is necessary to enforce the supervision over Internet
bars, Yu said, adding that "good supervision of Internet bars is
essential to the healthy growth of younger generations."
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)
