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China Bans Physical Punishment For Net Addicts

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the no-more-actually-kicking-the-habit dept.

gimmebeer writes to tell us that months after a teen was beaten to death in an Internet boot camp, China has banned the use of physical punishment to help teens kick their net addiction. "The death of 15-year-old Deng Senshan, just hours after he checked into an Internet bootcamp in the southwestern Guangxi region in early August, caused a media storm in China. Days later, another teenager, Pu Liang, was taken to hospital with water in the lungs and kidney failure after a similar attack in Sichuan Province. The government in July had already banned electroshock therapy as a treatment for Internet addiction, after media reports about a controversial psychiatrist who administered electric currents to nearly 3,000 teenagers. The latest guidelines suggest officials in Beijing do not think that those with unhealthy Internet habits should be forced offline permanently."

15 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Wow, that's impressive by pclminion · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wow, so you banned beatings for ONE class of prisoners. What a step forward China.

    1. Re:Wow, that's impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Certainly there are more kids who come out of these places saying it helped them than who die, but obviously 1 death is too many.

      [citation needed]

    2. Re:Wow, that's impressive by Jeeeb · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They're not prisoners. These are not state run institutions. Parents send their kids to these institutions voluntarily. Now obviously there is a problem with violence in these 'camps' and the government has stepped in to regulate. How exactly is it that you manage to fault the government (I'm assuming when you say China you're not referring to the entire nation) for this?

    3. Re:Wow, that's impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Certainly, I think anyone would say life in the United States is superior, the standard of living is just generally higher in the US.

      The 'internet addicts' are sent to these camps by their parents, not the government. These are privately run camps. It's not like the government is rounding these children up and shipping them off to addiction camps.

      As for life in China, I think you would find it quite livable provided that you have a decent source of income, and assuming that you don't do things to annoy the government.

    4. Re:Wow, that's impressive by mysidia · · Score: 2, Interesting

      C) Are mentally stable and can make their own decisions

      Without an objective criteria for mental stability, that's a real hard one to avoid the ''captors'' satisfying.

      They can claim that someone demonstrated to have an internet addition is unstable and can't make good decisions.

      For example, if they choose to leave, they will be satisfying their addiction in a way that harms them, negatively impacts their social life, etc.

      Further, their mental stability may be questioned on the basis of them spending 30 hours a week online, instead of going out with RL friends.

    5. Re:Wow, that's impressive by bogjobber · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If Americans were REALLY interested in the welfare of Chinese people, they'd allow free trade with China. Oh wait, oops, this will cause American manufacturing to completely collapse. Can't do that then.

      The US doesn't have free trade with China? What planet do you live on? We definitely have our trade disputes and protectionism, but that runs both ways and is in no way specific to China. We have had similar tariff and trade disputes with every other country that is a major trading partner (easy examples being Japanese auto manufacturing and Canadian lumber).

      As for the US attempting to make China impoverished, I can't even imagine the version of reality where you think this is happening. The trade relationship the United States and China have built since the cultural revolution is the single largest reason for the growth of the Chinese economy and economic progress of Chinese citizens. (I am not claiming the Americans are responsible for China's progress, just that we have been their most important economic partner for most of the last 30 years.)

      You have a completely misinformed view of the Sino-American relationship. I suggest you take a second look at the situation.

      And all of this is completely irrelevant. China is not somehow excused from treating their citizens like animals because the US is protectionist or imperialist in its trade policies. They are separate issues. You are only aiding an oppressive government by shifting blame away to the "evil Americans." China's ongoing human rights violations are horrifying, and are rightfully reviled by the rest of the world.

  2. Keepin' the Chinaman down!! by freedomseven · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Progressive measures like this are the things that keep innovation down. They don't understand why you need to be on the internet so much so they decide you are sick, deamonize the "illness", and take steps to cure you. Thanks guys. We need you guys on the side line so that we can catch back up.

  3. Re:Ironic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    In China they take half the powder out of the bullet when they shoot you in the head. The bullet just swirls around inside your skull and no exit wound = less mess to clean up.

    If you ask me all governments do fucked up things. In the case of China killing kids for spending too much time online is just one out of a very impressivly long list.

  4. How to freak them out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As proposed earlier: Give gaming addicts a computer, where they can start whichever game they want, however where all the games only play themselves.

    That should teach them, and after about a week of staring at the screen they might just start to do other things a slight bit at a time.

    1. Re:How to freak them out by koxkoxkox · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do you know on Korea you can watch Starcraft games on TV ? With excited commentators and all ? Didn't know a word of Korean but that was fun anyway.

  5. Keep in mind... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Nothing in China is illegal or immoral; until caught that its. Rest assure some other form of abuse will be invented in its place until its application results in death (again.) Then another, and another. Rinse and repeat. Never underestimate the creativity of the human mind to formulate new forms of torture to be inflicted on fellow human beings, nor its ability to following letters of laws while raping the intend of the law.

  6. Re:Why don't they go all the way? by khallow · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Punishment isn't about rehabilitation. It is about making sure criminals suffer some publicly so that victims don't take the law into their own hands. It's not about revenge, but a ritual "paying of dues" so that victims are placated and actual revenge doesn't occur.

  7. these camps by euyis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The real nature of these camps:

    Parents take the children (not always children, at least in one case it's an adult - university student) to the camps, with force or deception, pay the camp owner money and leave. No questions asked - they don't care whether the "patients" are really "net addicted" or not. Then the victims are stuck here, beaten and drugged by the drillmasters every day. Most of them are runied forever when they leave (alive).

    So it's basically a way for the parents to get rid of their problematic children, without trying to solve the real problem behind - survey indicates that most "net-addicted" children's parents have bad habits, e.g. addiction to gambling, and don't care what does the child think.

  8. Re:Ironic by mysidia · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Better analogy...

    China: You were shot in the head 20 years ago... every few years, the doctor is working on the bullet a little more, taking another piece out safely. You can't leave the bed until every bit is removed.

    The US: You haven't quite been shot yet.. you are strapped down to a table, fully restrained, the gun is above your head, at the other end of a tube also strapped to your head, the trigger was pulled 20 years ago.

    The bullet is inching down a few centimeters every year.

    It's only a matter of time before it hits you... one year was the Sonny Bono copyright extension act... next year was the DMCA... pirate act of 2004... next year was the broadcast flag......

    The bullet is coming towards you.. they've put you on just enough tranquilizers to keep you from moving, you're fully conscious of your fate, and there are lots of people in the room, but they've all got iPod earbuds or plugs in their ears, so they can't hear your screams..

    So which one's worse?

  9. Re:Why don't they go all the way? by stephanruby · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Punishment is about protection, reparations, rehabilitation, and vindication, yes, but it's not just about those. It's also about deterrence -- a show of power -- a show of force for both sides involved, plus anyone else who gets to see it or hear about it.