China Cracks Down on Internet Café Surfers

The Chinese central province of Jiangxi has begun further regulation of Internet café users by requiring Internet user access cards. To obtain an access card, users must register with the café by providing their name, age and address, all of which are then loaded into a local police database. These access cards are swiped on an identification device when the user accesses the Internet. The police are then signaled so that they can continuously monitor the Web for users attempting to reach government banned Web sites. Police can also block access of selected cardholders. All of Jiangxi's 3,200 Internet cafes have installed the access card software. "This system gives us more power to prevent crimes and identify criminals on the Internet," said an official government spokesman, who refused to be identified by name. China has nearly 45 million Internet users, but the government has blocked many Web sites that it claims are "subversive," including religious sites, Internet chat rooms that advocate free speech topics, some foreign news sites, and access to Internet search engine, Google. Internet cafes have become very popular all over China, and the government is intent on prohibiting its users' from using the Web as a forum for expression of dissension and other types of free speech activities.