Report: China bars minors from Web cafes
Appeared in CNN.
BEIJING (Reuters) -- China barred minors from entering Internet cafes,
issuing new rules Friday to govern the shops the state accuses of
poisoning the minds of urban youth.The regulations, reported by the official Xinhua news agency, came four months after a fire at a Beijing cybercafe killed 25 people -- mostly students -- locked inside and shocked the nation's leaders. The cafes are hugely popular for video games and Web services. The new rules also prevent the construction of cybercafes within 650 feet of elementary and middle schools, said Xinhua's Web site. Offenders risk a fine of up to $1,800 and may have their operating licenses canceled, Xinhua said. It said Web cafes now could only operate between the hours of 8 a.m. and midnight. Closed for inspection China forced thousands of Internet cafes across the country to close for inspection in a drive to clean up the unregulated industry after the June blaze. Two juveniles were later sentenced to life in prison for lighting the fire. In the wake of the fire, state media printed volumes of commentary and letters from angry parents across the country, some of whom claimed their children had become "zombies" who wasted their time and money in cybercafes and video game parlors. At the time, authorities said some 90 percent of Internet cafes in Beijing were unlicensed. The new regulations were formulated by the State Council, or cabinet, signed by Premier Zhu Rongji at the end of September and take effect on November 15. China's Communist Party also tries to keep a tight grip on Internet sites it deems unwholesome and blocks several Web sites.
 
October 11, 2002.
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