Sun, Nov 23, 2003 - Page 11 News List

China quickly losing control of Internet usage

AP , NEW YORK

Hao Xiaolei says she sometimes lets her fingers do the shopping from her Beijing residence, buying mostly small items and paying in cash.

"I have an account with my address and after confirmation of my purchase, their account service person would deliver it in person," she said via e-mail. "When I receive it, I pay for it. They promise a maximum of 48-hour delivery delay."

According to 62 percent of the people surveyed, the primary problem with using the Internet in China is that their connection is too slow. Connection speeds are affected, many say, by the censors the government uses to block tens of thousands of sites.

Forty-five percent think their connection fees -- which can be as low as about a dollar for eight hours of access -- are too high, while 34 percent complain about their connections being dropped.

China has closed more than 3,300 Internet cafes in what it calls a safety crackdown since a fire in June last year at a Beijing cafe killed 25 people. The government says nearly 12,000 other Internet cafes closed temporarily while they made improvements.

The crackdown added to efforts by the communist government to control how Chinese use the Internet, even as it encourages the spread of online activity for business and education.

Under new rules that took effect last year, minors are banned from many Internet cafes. Managers are required to keep records of customers' identities and to close by midnight.

But Guo said many Internet cafes are unlicensed and do not track their customers or check their ages.

"One reason that young people like the Internet cafes is that after work they don't have lots of entertainment or night life, so they don't know what to do," Guo said. "Young people like Internet as a fashion thing. They can tell their friends, `I can play games on Internet.' Young people like to show off."

This story has been viewed 4145 times.
TOP top