Complete Net Cafe Shutdown After Beijing Fire

lunchlady doris writes: "The BBC has this story that tells of a fire in an internet cafe in Beijing that killed 24 people. The mayor responded to this tragedy by shutting down all 2,400 cafes in the city, most of which are operated illegally. Only 200 cafes will be allowed to reopen, pending municipal regulation. Needless to say, the netizens of Beijing are pissed and see this as a move to quash the limited access to the net that the Chinese people currently have."

Comments

BSA in Beijing?

[Mudcathi]

The BSA doesn't mess around in those developing countries, does it?! Betcha the 200 shops that re-open will have their documents in order...

Re:How do you shutdown illegally operated netcafes

[Zocalo]

I note that the article doesn't say how the cybercafe is "operated illegally", and given the track record of the Chinese government for suppression of the Internet lots of people are assuming they are some speakeasy type dive. It could just be that they sell coffee and danish that are past their sell by date you know, or more likely given the deaths, infringe on lots of safety regulations.

Just playing devil's advocate...

Re:How do you shutdown illegally operated netcafes

[phunhippy]

To be honest, does one fire in one cybercafe really justify the closure of all such establishments?

No of course not! It justifies the closure of the entire internet for safety reasons however! please unplug your computer now :)

--see thats a joke people.. humor.. itz a good thing..