China bans new internet cafes for a year linkLast Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 10:31 AM ET
CBC News China won't allow new internet cafes to open this year in an effort to crack down on internet addiction, state media reported Tuesday.
The Xinhua News Agency said 14 government departments issued a notice saying "in 2007, local governments must not sanction the opening of new internet bars."
Internet users surf web sites at an Internet cafe on Tuesday March 6, 2007, in Shanghai, China. China will not allow any new Internet cafes to open this year, state media reported on Tuesday.
(Associated Press) Cafes that have already been given approval must be completed by June.
Xinhua said the new restrictions are designed to curb what it sees as rising problems of internet addiction and online gambling.
In 2004 the government shut down 8,600 unlicensed internet cafes after two middle school pupils fell asleep on a railway line and were run over following a 48-hour internet session.
A similar crackdown occurred in 2002 after a fire broke out in a Beijing internet cafe in 2002, killing 24 people.
In January, President Hu Jintao ordered Chinese internet regulators to promote a "healthy online culture."
The government encourages internet use for business and education but has been criticized for censoring content and websites it deems offensive or subversive.
There are an estimated 113,000 internet cafes in China, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Information Industry.
The country's online population grew by 23.4 per cent last year to 137 million people, about 10 per cent of its 1.3 billion population, according to a report by the China Internet Network Information Centre released in January.
China is expected to overtake the United States in the next two years as the nation with the most internet users, the report said.
With files from the Associated Press
Author