Censorship in China

After attempting to shut down or censor most of its cyber caf�s, China has launched another effort to shut down cybercafes �because of fears that the Net could corrupt the minds of youngsters....�

"We must take utmost resolutions and make utmost efforts in the clean-up campaign to achieve our anticipated goal, for Internet cafe management has an important bearing on the healthy growing of juveniles."
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As if to prove a point, Xinhuanet cites the tragic case of two youths who were crushed to death by a train when they fell asleep on a railway track after spending 48 hours in a cybercafe.
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He cites the case of a 19-year old who, after surfing the next for five to six hours everyday for five years who had come to believe that �invisible pairs of eyes in cyber-space were peeping at him and examining him all the time�

Of course the real reason China bans uncensored internet access is obvious:

"They have brought great harm to the mental health of teenagers and interfered with the school teaching, which has aroused strong reactions from the public."

Translated from newspeak, that means ��interfered with the indoctrination of communist propaganda, which arouses strong fear within the Communist Party.�

Written by David at May 6, 2004 10:17 AM | TrackBack