Chengdu, China — All Internet cafés have been closed for more than two months in Guan County in China’s Shandong province, following a county government closure order, Chinese media revealed in October. No reason was given except that the action was “based on instructions from higher authorities.” This is really odd.
Previously, Chinese officials have blamed people who post comments online at Internet cafés for “causing social disorder.” But the Guan authorities’ shutting down all 21 local Internet cafés violates both the right to free speech guaranteed in the Constitution and the rules of the market economy.
More critically, the authorities’ handling of the shutdown shows their administrative incompetence. Frankly, this measure proves that the county government leaders are unqualified for their jobs.
Further, explaining their action with the unreasonable claim that they were following “instructions from higher authorities” is surely a violation of the country’s Open Government Information Act, which took effect on May 1, 2008. As taxpayers, both the owners of the Internet cafés and the netizens who are their customers have the right to know why the cafes were closed.
When government policies affect the people's livelihood, their background and legal basis should be clearly explained. Otherwise, individual political leaders could make decisions according to their whims and on the spur of the moment, resulting in ridiculous measures that are both illegal and against the people’s will.
In China there have been numerous cases of leaders making up their own policies and causing trouble for the people, leading eventually to conflicts between officials and citizens.
Judging from all the news articles related to the closing of the Internet cafés, it appears that the authorities’ action resulted from a local netizen’s compliant related to the government’s family planning rules. In my opinion, the posted statements should be investigated, rather than being labeled as “rumors” and blocked. Rumors do not stop the wise; instead they should prompt a search for more open and truthful information.
Removing the source of information and blocking access to the Internet serves only to prepare the soil for the spread of rumors. In fact, all kinds of talk, guesses and rumors have circulated during the two months of blocked access to the Internet. This was due to the officials’ contempt for the government information disclosure rules.
Confrontations between Chinese officials and people often come from various governments’ arrogance and indolence. In the case of Guan County, if officials encountered a problem related to Internet cafés, they should have investigated the issue instead of simply cutting off the problem at one stroke and shutting down all the cafés. Such a sweeping approach, often at the command of one man, is bound to cause trouble.
Further, the officials’ phobia toward Internet cafés is a reflection of their own lack of comprehension of the social reality. The Internet has been deeply changing Chinese society, and the authorities need to understand this powerful tool and develop the capacity to cope with it.
What they really fear is losing control of those who use cyber cafés – both adult netizens who go online to discuss current affairs and students who use the Internet to play games and chat with friends.
Those who oppose and demonize Internet cafés tend to have only a smattering of knowledge about them – characterizing them as places for citizens to criticize the government or for students to indulge in online games and make friends while abandoning their studies.
The trend toward dialogue, rationality, openness and tolerance of different views cannot be resisted. Individuals and nations that try to resist such trends will be excluded from this information era. In brief, the fear of new things, lack of tolerance and absence of an adventuresome spirit result in a lack of competitiveness and being out of tune with the times.
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(Editor’s note: According to the China Internet Network Information Center, China had 338 million netizens as of July, 2009; 28 percent of them are rural dwellers. Internet penetration in Chinese cities was 35 percent, but less than 12 percent in rural areas. Thus, most Chinese access the Internet in public places such as cyber cafés.
Many officials are nervous due to increasing online revelations about official corruption and incompetence, which have gained nationwide attention. Regulations now require Internet cafés to check and record the identities of their customers, including setting up cameras at counters to take their photos. Customers under 18 are not allowed, but still many teenagers find their way into the cafés to play games.)
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(Ran Yunfei is a noted critic on current affairs and an activist promoting civil society in China. This article is translated and edited from the Chinese by UPI Asia.com; the Chinese original can be found at http://www.my1510.cn/article.php?id=c2f98179215c1a84 ©Copyright Ran Yunfei.)