China's Ministry of Culture (MOC) in Beijing on Thursday announced regulations tightening its management of Internet cafes and the Internet's negative influences.

The MOC is in charge of Internet bars and relevant service providers who trade creative works, videos, Internet games and performances through Internet technology.

Zhang Xinjian, deputy director of the cultural industry division of the MOC, said that currently some Internet cafes illegally traded in contraband videos, and auctioned and sold pirated works of art. Some Internet cafes offered on-line games featuring pornography, gambling, violence and fetishism, and some unlicensed premises even allowed in minors, which totally violated Chinese law.

The MOC regulations involve not only specific requirements for setting up Internet cafes, but also certifications for cafe proprietors and entry registration for consumers.

Under the regulations, minors may enter Internet cafes only during school holidays and stay on-line for three hours at most. Those under 16 years of age can go to Internet bars only with teachers.

MOC will also join other government administrations in developing professional software to safeguard China's Internet service.

Availability of the Internet as represented by the cafes, has grown rapidly in China in recent years. Provisional figures show that by the end of this March, China had 200,000 Internet cafes. But around 17,000 have so far been closed down due to illegal activities, and 28,000 have applied for licenses.

(People's Daily May 17, 2002)