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Chinese Force Mass Closure Of Net Cafes
Chien Andalusia writes "According to this article from the BBC, the Chinese authorities closed 12,575 net cafes towards the end of 2004. Due to the expense of computer hardware, net cafés have become very popular in China in recent years. The laws governing such cafés are very strict, especially in relation to minimising the amount of exposure children can get to the internet. For example, no net café is allowed to open within 200 metres of a middle or elementary school. The article also briefly discusses other restrictions imposed on Chinese net cafés."
I think joe average is a bit smarter than we give him credit for. Nothing personal, but we should avoid the social elite attitude if we can in debating such things.
And dont cite voting Bush into power. I voted for Bush, and that doesnt make me an idiot. And no, I wont justify to people why I did.
I voted for Bush, and that doesnt make me an idiot
Yes, actually, it does.
But certainly, if that doesn't, then your sig does.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
First of all, they're not "cut from the same cloth". They're clearly seperate. I take it you've not read anything about communism.
If you think a democracy can't be totalitarian, then you have to ask yourself this - what is a democracy? The act of voting doesn't make a democracy. Something that appears a democracy might be the furthest from it.
I'm just saying, you clearly don't know what you're on about here. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but there's no way I can discuss this with you if you are assuming all these ridiculous things :)
The Chinese government has enough power to shut down internet cafes but yet they still can't keep their population size in check....go figure.
For all the hype China is getting as a supposed new super-power to challenge the US, there is something more fundamental going on there. It didn't start in Tiananmen square, but it is continuing in the rice paddies and town squares.
People in China have developed a distrust for government. This isn't news, because it didn't happen overnight. In the past, government was a partner. The people would give them taxes, their young men, and endure some pretty harsh rules from time to time. In exchange, the government would maintain order, secure a decent living, and protect the people from wandering Mongol hordes. Occasionally the government would clean up corruption or crack down on gangs and networks.
This all started to change when Europe conquered China. No longer could the government protect the people! The people began to look for another way. At about the time of Chiang Kai-Shek, european style democracy was beginning to really take root. The people were beginning to prosper, and beginning to realize their power. They were getting a better picture of the true role of government, as a servant of the people, not as their master. Of course that awakening was interrupted by Mao and his hordes of communists. It would take a long time to begin reawaken the sleeping giant again.
Nowadays, there are no Mongol hordes. The biggest threat China faces is arguably the best thing that could ever happen to China. Why does the government want to put a wall between the US and China when the US can be an extremely valuable trade partner? And not just an economic trade partner, but an intellectual trade partner? The people are beginning to see that communism isn't the answer.
People in China have grown to understand that the cities in the US are paved with gold. Not literally, of course. But there is something that the US is doing that makes their 300 million strong much more wealthy, powerful, and intelligent than China's billions. They are getting a sense of what capitalism is all about. They are growing to appreciate the fundamental rights of man, thank to the beginning of a Christian uprising. They are seeing the weakness in the government, how they require the buy-in of the people or they can't govern.
I encourage you to talk with visiting scholars from China who are getting their graduate degrees in our universities. They understand the real problems China faces, the real struggles they are fighting. But they also have come to see what really makes America what it is. They are probably going to be a compassionate capitalist. Yes, people should work hard to make as much money as they can. But that money should be used to employ other people or for charity. It's the duty of the rich to care for the poor.
They see Japan, South Korea, Phillipines, and other countries, and wonder why, after 400 years of contact with Europe, hasn't China become like them. Yet Japan and South Korea are such small, weak countries in comparison historically. Why do they prosper so much? Why can South Korea boast a military that threatens even China?
I watched on TV as an older women openly challenged the town mayor, a strong party member. Her grievances were just - the government displaced her and made promises they didn't keep. The look on the officials face as the cameras taped the final confrontation was one of fear. He saw that that poor, uneducated woman was far more powerful than he ever could be, because she was right. She learned that when you are fighting for a just cause, even if it is in your own self-interest, you can win. The message is getting out. People are learning.
This internet-cafe closing thing will have absolutely zero negative effect on the progression of Chinese government to a true democracy. If anything, it will be more fuel to add towards true reform and freedom for the people.
The pundits who are left-leaning say "Watch out for China! They will do what Saddam and Stalin could not do!" That is just wishful thinking. These are probably the same people saying ter
The radical sect of Islam would either see you dead or "reverted" to Islam.
I voted for Bush, and that doesnt make me an idiot.
It either makes you an idiot, or completely amoral.
There really are no other options if you honestly think it through.