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China Puts Hold on Net Cafe Construction This Year

Posted by Zonk on from the put-a-cork-in-it dept.

With government concerns about online gaming growing steadily in China, Beijing has put in place a ban on the opening of new internet cafes for the rest of the year. GigaGamez reports on the country's move, which is largely seen as a response to some high-profile deaths from unhealthily dedicated gamers. From the article: "Honestly [this] shouldn't be that big of a deal if you consider that the Chinese government has already estimated that 113,000 Internet cafes already exist. Add this to the already bizarre limitation of World of Warcraft play time and you have some very unhappy gamers." Update: 03/08 14:52 GMT by Z : GamePolitics has the word that virtual currencies are also to be restricted, in an effort to ensure that the yuan is kept secure.

26 comments

  1. Nothing wrong with that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They just think of their children... ...and Terrorists who would clearly prefer evil Chinese Internet Cafes.

    1. Re:Nothing wrong with that... by jamar0303 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Quite strange to be thinking of the children, given that you need to be 18 to use the internet cafes in China.

      --
      OSx86 FTW
    2. Re:Nothing wrong with that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quite strange to be thinking of the children, given that you need to be 18 to use the internet cafes in China.

      You are too smart for humor.

    3. Re:Nothing wrong with that... by jamar0303 · · Score: 1

      sorry- I've been too grumpy for humor the past few hours (personal reasons). That one flew right over my head.

      --
      OSx86 FTW
  2. Well.. by okinawa_hdr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...if you consider how many American dollars a sword, piece of armor, or gold fetches in the aftermarket of popular MMORPG's, compared to what the average Chinese worker makes in a month, you may be addicted to farming in these games also.

    --
    okinawa japan
  3. change to WoW economy by romit_icarus · · Score: 2
    I predict a significant drop in Gold inflation rates in WoW due to the resulting reduction of farming activity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_(gaming)

    The Fed had better act quickly.

  4. Wireless Grids by bhima · · Score: 1

    I'm really surprized the Chinese haven't really done amazing things with wireless grids and better crypto.

    OK maybe they have and it works well and that's why we haven't heard about it.

    --
    Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
    1. Re:Wireless Grids by skeldoy · · Score: 0

      I concur, but I append a hope that they have accomplished it and that it is used for political dissent rather than making a quick profit playing WoW.

  5. Dangerous compared to what by pipatron · · Score: 1

    So how much more likely is it that someone dies from using a computer, compared to the alternatives, which would probably be "just hangin'" or something that the youths of today does! (I'm 27, it was better when I was a kid, uphill both ways etc)

    --
    c++; /* this makes c bigger but returns the old value */
  6. Democracy vs Dictorator ship by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 2

    That would be like setting of a flair signalling that you are doing something the goverment disapproves off.

    Your silly attitude is pampered by living in the free west. A program called freenet suffers from that too. Its latest version attempts to sit on a darknet.

    Yeah, that works. In the free west where NOBODY (we know off so far) gives a shit about wich ports traffic is going across or wether they can read it.

    For the chinese goverment it would be trivial to just report any traffic that does not go over legit ports in a legit form. A darknet would stand out like sore thumb. If you think a darknet works then you must also think that sending mail to your own adress with a phoney name is going to fool anyone.

    Same with wireless, radio signals can be detected you know. EASILY. And what would you connect to anyway? The state run ISP wireless service? Then it don't matter shit. You will still be monitored. and your location can be easily found with decades old equipment.

    Crypto, well even if it is unbreakable under a dictator ship that would just mean you just proved you had something to hide, wich is a crime so of you go to be re-educated, you little counter-revolutionist.

    Only in the free world can you hide in plain sight. Sending ANY content that cannot be identified but can be traced back to you is enough to land you in jail in a dictatorship.

    Only if you somehow manage to come up with a solution that allows you to send and receive without being traced are you safe. Good luck with that. Spy agencies the world over would like to hear from you.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  7. NOT a response to deaths from gamers by FriendlyLurker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Chinese Gov is not responding to a few "deaths from unhealthily dedicated gamers" as many news sources are reporting with the tone that this is a "good idea". This is such a thin cover story its laughable. Unreported yet estimated to be large numbers (http://hazards.org.master.com/texis/master/search /mysite.html?q=china&submit=+Search+Hazards) of Chinese routinely die/maimed/disappear from very poor to zero work related safety precautions, with local courts routinely ruling against the victims and their families because awarding for better conditions/compensation "restricts Chinas progress". This news story is simply an ongoing restriction to information/Internet policy with a very thin disguise - anybody reporting it otherwise is being uninformed or perhaps is gunning for a similar policy locally.

    1. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by kamapuaa · · Score: 1
      You're kidding. Every motherfucker on the street in China knows people get injured at work if they work in construction jobs or mining or so forth. Welcome to the 3rd world, the local version of OSHA doesn't exactly have much power. How does vaguely limiting the number of Internet cafes (they're already everywhere) relate to a lack of Occupational safety standards?

      Anyway, this doesn't limit people who do Internet on their home computers, or who text people on their cell phones.

      --
      Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    2. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by blueZhift · · Score: 1

      I don't know if it is part of some grand plan or not. But the death of the game player does give a handy excuse to slow things down while their censorship/surveillance apparatus catches up. Internet cafe's must be an authoritarian government's nightmare in terms of controlling information and access to outside sources. So any excuse to put on the brakes is handy. They won't do it for too long though, because for better or worse, the internet cafes are part of the state's opium that keeps the masses from noticing other things that might really piss them off and send them into the streets. Afterall, if those young Chinese men playing WoW stop for too long, they might just notice that the one child policy, cultural biases for male children, and selective abortion have resulted in not enough women to go around. If I were them, that alone would really piss me off!

      --
      To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
    3. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by nomadic · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Welcome to the 3rd world, the local version of OSHA doesn't exactly have much power.

      But...but...the libertarians always told me that if you get rid of labor laws workers become safer and better paid! I don't understand.

    4. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think the point was that it's not because people are dying. China doesn't give one tenth of one shit if a gamer dies. In fact the powers-that-be are probably overjoyed every time, because there goes one more computer-savvy motherfucker that won't be challenging the social order.

      The point which I thought was made fairly clearly in the prior comment (amazingly clearly for slashdot) is that closing the internet cafes is really about controlling access to information. You can't be anonymous at home...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by kamapuaa · · Score: 1

      Yep! And the counter-point was, internet cafes are everywhere, internet is on people's cell phones, internet is available on home computers.

      --
      Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    6. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Yep! And the counter-point was, internet cafes are everywhere, internet is on people's cell phones, internet is available on home computers.

      On one hand you might say it's like closing the barn door after the horses have escaped. On the other hand, not doing it is like telling someone it's okay to stab you because you've already been shot. Of course, that's a pretty ludicrous comparison when what we're talking about is censorship, fascism, and control, but it still illustrates the point better than any other example.

      Also, this could easily be a first step to actually closing down cybercafes...

      And your point about cellphones and home computers is utterly irrelevant, because you are not anonymous with either of those things (except possibly for prepay cellular, but I don't know how that's actually handled in China.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    7. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      (except possibly for prepay cellular, but I don't know how that's actually handled in China.)

      You go to any of a million street vendors or stores (and I'm guessing 1,000,000 is not too far off from the correct number) and pick up a prepaid China Mobile card. When you want more, you go back and buy a recharge. The only way it is tracable is if they track the SIM card through triangulation. However, Internet cafes record the ID of every person, assign them to a specific computer, and track the time in and time out. If there is any reason to try, the government can find out who was on which computer when. There is no anonymity at the Internet cafes. Oh, and if you ever are chatting with someone that says they are on at an Internet cafe, make them turn on the webcam. There isn't a single one I ever saw that didn't have a webcam on every computer. So if they say they are at a cafe, it is trivial to determine if they are who they say that are.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    8. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by khallow · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      This isn't a good example because we actually have the opposite effect. Namely, state enforced protection of employers.

    9. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      However, Internet cafes record the ID of every person, assign them to a specific computer, and track the time in and time out. If there is any reason to try, the government can find out who was on which computer when. There is no anonymity at the Internet cafes.

      So I guess the Chinese don't have Fake ID technology then, eh?

      Maybe we should send some teenagers over there to provide it to them.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    10. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      So I guess the Chinese don't have Fake ID technology then, eh?

      Well, it's not like here where kids are expected to pass fake IDs all the time and the bartenders look the other way (unless it's Bush Jr.'s girls). Forging government documents is actually treated like a crime in some countries, so it isn't worth it.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    11. Re:NOT a response to deaths from gamers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anonymous prepaid cellular is much more common in China than in the US, and anonymous prepaid GSM and GPRS are also ubiquitous and relatively cheap. So, your conspiracy theory about internet cafes is essentially wrong.

  8. well by mastershake_phd · · Score: 1

    Think it has something to do with this?:

    A 26 year old, 330 pound, guy from China died after playing online games for 7 days nearly non stop over the Chinese new year said his parents.

    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/165207/yo ung_man_dies_after_a_marathon_week.html

    --
    Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
    1. Re:well by Henry+V+.009 · · Score: 1

      Obviously he didn't forget to eat while playing.

  9. You're a fucking loon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You seriously overestimate the ability of the chinese government to monitor their traffic, and you seriously overestimate your own freedoms in the West.

    American citizens are being held indefinitely in Guantanamo. The NSA eavesdrops on your phone calls. Prisoners are sent away to overseas torture chambers. The right to protest has been violently curtailed in most major cities.

    Get a fucking clue, buddy. And wake up to the real America or you'll be living in China 2.0 soon.

  10. Good articles in Harpers and the Washington Post by borkus · · Score: 1

    There was an interesting article in March's Harpers written by a reporter who checked himself into an "Internet Addiction Treatment Center." Unfortunately, the acticle's not online, but it's worth checking out at a library or newstand.

    The Post article is a little less behind the scenes, but it does detail how China is pretty much treating Internet Addiction along the same lines as heroin and alcohol addictions.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2007/02/21/AR2007022102094.html