Slashdot Mirror
China Shuts Down 17,000 Internet Bars
Astin writes: "According to this article, Chinese authorities have shut down more than 17,000 Internet bars for failing to block Web sites considered subversive or pornographic. Out of the 94,000 Internet bars in China, 17,488 have been shut down and another 28,000 were ordered to install monitoring software soon. Of the 27 million Internet users in China, about 4.5 million rely on these bars. Foreign news organizations fall under the category of 'subversive'."
Why is anyone really surprise by this move by the Chinese government? It's not like they're known for being a bunch of liberals after all - just ask some of Falun Gong for instance how they treat ideas that they don't like. No, the Chinese government may like to talk about their progressive nature and "liberalising" (heh) their country, but the truth is they're as big a bunch of Reds as the Soviets ever were.
How is though that the US is prepared to kiss ass in order to trade with them when we spent close to fifty years fighting the Red menace before? Modern USia has quite simply lost any semblance of morality and ideology other than the dollar and a kind of rabid Christianity. Whatever happened to fighting the good fight against communism because it threatened the freedoms we fought so hard to win?
Are our principles now to be sacrificed because we want cheap Chinese products? Can this country sink any lower?
Doesn't mean I should accept what they're doing to us because it's not as bad as what China's doing to their people. Wrong is wrong, no matter the extent thereof.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
The most telling point in the article:
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.
Now let's revisit the second sentence:
But Washington fears its other use as a forum for terrorist activity.
So, Beijing mandates NetNanny, and Washington mandates Carnivore.
Yep, sure am glad I live in a society completely unlike China.
Please donate your spare CPU cycles to help fight cancer and other diseases
And the pussies stopped just because a few died?
Poor babies, they got a little booboo on their little tummies, and don't want to play with the big kids anymore. Boohoofuckinghoo.
How many people the world over have fought and died to gain control of their country from a repressive group? In America we generally think of the Revolutionary War first, but there's also the Civil War and the War of 1812. England had many wars over who would be king or queen. World War II had people everywhere fighting, even in China.
Basically, there's only a few 'revolutionaries' in China nowadays, and they're wimps. A thousand have a protest in Tiannemen Square. Tanks roll over a few of them, and the rest shut their mouths and tow the line. For this we should give them sympathy? Let them stand up and fight, then I will have sympathy when the government kills them. Nothing less is worthy.