- (Reuters) -- The Chinese government on Friday issued
rules barring minors from going into Internet cafes, which are hugely popular
for video games and Web services, and which state media have said poison
the minds of urban youth.
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- The regulations, reported by the official Xinhua news
agency on Friday, came four months after a fire at a Beijing cybercafe
that killed 25 people--mostly students--who were locked inside.
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- The new rules also prevent the construction of cybercafes
within about 650 feet of elementary and middle schools, said Xinhua's Web
site.
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- China forced thousands of Internet cafes across the country
to close for inspections, in a drive to clean up the unregulated industry
after the June blaze. Two juveniles were later sentenced to life in prison
for lighting the fire.
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- In the wake of the fire, state media printed volumes
of commentary and letters from angry parents across the country, some claiming
their children became "zombies" who wasted their time and money
in cybercafes and video game parlors.
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- At the time, authorities said some 90 percent of Internet
cafes in Beijing were unlicensed.
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- The new regulations were formulated by the state council,
or cabinet, signed by Premier Zhu Rongji at the end of September, and are
set to take effect on November 15.
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