Cops shut down hundreds of Internet cafes in Beijing to save the generation | Hacker News Reader

Cops shut down hundreds of Internet cafes in Beijing to save the generation

pcgerms.com

16 pointsjhony_d17 comments

Why submit a bad summary when the source article has additional (yet still insufficient) detail?

http://www.techinasia.com/beijing-online-crimes-crackdown/

I guess the historical phrase "Sick man of Asia" still applies to China after all this time.

First it was the opium dens, then the June Fourth Incident, and now the Internet Cafes. There's always something corrupting the Chinese youths.

Given the sheer numbers reported, I imagine a great deal of injustice has been meted out in attempting to stamp out "injustice". Probably someone on high issued a dictate, that was followed by some action, then some numbers to show how well everything was done.

There are regular "crackdowns" on internet cafes in Beijing, as they are an easy target for the security establishment to justify their existence to find hostile forces against stability and harmony. Many of the internet cafes are operating on fake or bribe obtained licenses. When their protector is removed, unless they find a new protector in the security establishment, they are closed in a crackdown and the owner/operators are often arrested. Even if they could pay a significant bribe, as other sponsored replacements will soon come to take their place.

Having been in several dozen internet cafes in Beijing and China over the last decade, most of the time its children and young adults playing games or watching movies or porn. Often at times during the day when they should be in school. Past crackdowns have focused on children not being in school and that has had more local support, rather than cracking down on dissent, which is rather limited in these locations anyway, as they are often highly monitored.

The more likely case is that the Chinese regime is trying to silence microbloggers. They've been the only real voice of what's going on there with all the recent political turmoil, and there are media outside of China who are picking up what they're saying.

Interesting, but strangely written:

> The reason to close these cafes was obviously to save the physical and mental health of the teens in Beijing.

I don't see why that's so obvious, is this sarcasm?

> I don't see why that's so obvious, is this sarcasm?

Yes, I read it as sarcasm.

it most indefinitely is because the original Chinese post he sourced (Solidot) didn't mention crack down on netcafes "for youth" at all. original text sounded more like they went around and hunted down all the "illegal" blacklisted sites that were peddling illegal materials, spreading political rumors and being anti-communist/party leaders/party systems. sounds like a normal day for left leaning anything in China.

Is strangely written because it is sarcastically reflecting the content of official statements.

Interestingly, it doesn't need the sarcastic tone to be funny. Chinese authority is (and will continue to be) a joke.

A joke that (if you are Chinese in China) can get you jailed, put under indefinite house arrest, fired from job, kicked out of school, banned from professional associations, removed from your home, have savings confiscated, beaten by security thugs or failing that and with over-exuberance by thugs killed.

> A joke that (if you are Chinese in China) can get you jailed, put under indefinite house arrest, fired from job, kicked out of school, banned from professional associations, removed from your home, have savings confiscated, beaten by security thugs or failing that and with over-exuberance by thugs killed.

This is both true and tragic, so much so that it reinforces my belief that it is preferable to drown in the Yangtze than to spend as little as a single day in such a poor excuse for a nation; that is, the "Sick man of Asia".

How are you planning on drowning in the Yangtze River without first entering China? Or were you just planning on doing it within your first day?

> How are you planning on drowning in the Yangtze River without first entering China? Or were you just planning on doing it within your first day?

I'm not planning to drown in the Yangtze. Read my comment again. I wrote it from the "if I were to magically become a Chinese citizen" perspective. Any speaker of English should be able to understand the difference.

Ah I see, sorry, I was just figuring out the logistics.

So, just to clear up any confusion, are you really recommending that it is preferable for Chinese citizens to drown in the Yangtze? Or is it only preferable for people who became Chinese citizens through some form of magical means, possibly involving a wizard?

> So, just to clear up any confusion, are you really recommending that it is preferable for Chinese citizens to drown in the Yangtze? Or is it only preferable for people who became Chinese citizens through some form of magical means, possibly involving a wizard?

No, I'm not. I'm saying that it'd be preferable for _me_ to drown in the Yangtze if I were to become a Chinese citizen via magical means.

Are you really reading my comment(s) incorrectly or are you trying to push me between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place by asking antagonizing questions and hoping I respond inappropriately to them?

I was being ridiculously literal in my interpretation as I felt that you were being ridiculously hyperbolic and that you were verging into being insulting to the chinese in general rather than the chinese government in particular, even if that may have not been your intention. Saying that you would rather drown than live in a particular group is a pretty strong statement.

To be honest I don't believe for a second that if you were actually magically turned into a chinese citizen, by some nefarious wizard with an exceedingly strange sense of humour, that you would then say to yourself "Right, that's it, I'm off to drown in the Yangtze river, only got a day.".

For one thing you would have at least a few days initially of wondering what the fuck was going on and feeling lost and bewildered and stuff, so the timeframe isn't realistic. And even then, I reckon you would be more likely to just get on with life from then on, and also be completely shit-scared of wizards.

[edit] Actually, the fear of wizards might even keep you alive as then you are less likely to be worried about the power of the chinese government. Unless they also have wizards, in which case you might have problems.

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