China has shut down 17,000-plus Internet bars

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China has shut down 17,000-plus Internet bars

Associated Press

SHANGHAI, China _ Chinese authorities have shut down more than 17,000 Internet bars for failing to block Web sites considered subversive or pornographic, a state-run newspaper reported.

The closures came during a nationwide sweep of China's 94,000 Internet bars that was launched in April, the Shanghai-based Wen Hui Bao reported this week.

Called "wang ba" in Mandarin Chinese, most Internet bars here are nothing more than dimly lit one-room shops with a dozen personal computers.

They are now found in almost every Chinese city and even large villages. Almost 27 million of China's 1.3 billion people now log on, up from 4 million just two years ago, according to government figures.

Of current users, about 4.5 million rely on Internet bars, the Wen Hui Bao said.

"Some youths will submerge themselves in Internet bars for long periods, playing unhealthy games and adversely affecting their development as normal students," the newspaper said.

Only about half the nation's Internet bars have installed all the necessary software to block restricted Web sites and keep records of user activities, the report said.

The government wants to encourage the Internet's growth as a commercial medium. But Beijing fears its other use as a forum for political dissent.

Web sites run by foreign news organizations are blocked by the Chinese government. Regulations also target Web sites containing pornographic material.

-- Anonymous, November 23, 2001


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