VZCZCXRO0029
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1884/01 0791027
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201027Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5956
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2032 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCUL SOCI CH
SUBJECT: INTERNET ADDICTION SCARE IN CHINA REVEALS DEEPER 
OFFICIAL CONCERNS 
 
REF: A. BEIJING 1238 
 
     ¶B. 06 BEIJING 2682 
 
Classified By: Political Section Internal Unit Chief Susan A. Thornton. 
  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C) The perils of "Internet addiction" have been a 
hot human interest story in Mainland media in recent 
weeks, as newspapers and (of course) Internet news 
sites run a steady diet of cautionary tales about 
youths losing their way thanks to too much time 
online.  The Ministry of Culture has announced that no 
new Internet cafes will be allowed to open for the 
remainder of 2007.  Despite the public health risk 
theme the "addiction" coverage presents, media and 
academic contacts maintain that the problem is 
exaggerated -- and the Government likes it that way. 
While online games, not progressive political blogs, 
are seen as most guilty of seducing young people, any 
scare that steers kids clear of a medium many 
officials see as a gateway to a trove of subversive 
material that threatens Party authority is a bonus. 
While the Propaganda Department has issued no specific 
coverage guidelines, contacts said the Ministries of 
Education and Culture are working in tandem to get the 
story out on the hazards of the Internet.  Cybercafe 
managers, however, brushed aside the concerns, 
commenting that being hooked on the web is "no worse 
than watching too much television."  End Summary. 
 
 
They've Got a Habit 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) The Chinese press has coined a catchy new term 
to describe people who can not tear themselves away 
from the world wide web that translates roughly as 
"netaholics."  The official China Youth Internet 
Association released a report in 2006 pegging the 
number of young Internet users (defined as age 13-35) 
addicted to the web at more than 13 percent.  In the 
past month, the press has run dozens of articles 
recounting scary tales of young people veering off the 
rails thanks to being hooked on the Internet.  One 
piece, on The Beijing Times website, tells of 17-year- 
old Little Ying, who reportedly ran away from home and 
spent 20 days eating and sleeping in an Internet cafe. 
Another article on the Beijing Daily's website, under 
the headline "Internet Addicted Youth Are Most Likely 
to Oppose Society," quotes a series of academics who 
charge that too much time online promotes deviant 
behavior and harms performance at school.  Online and 
print media reported that National People's Congress 
representatives discussed the issue during its annual 
legislative confab that ended March 16.  Finally, 
under its health section, the People's Daily Online 
ran an editorial March 13 arguing that the key to 
rehabilitating "Internet addicts" is first sensitizing 
parents to the problem. 
 
¶3.  (C) Despite the public health gloss the media is 
giving the fight against "Internet addiction," the 
propaganda push serves the purposes of a Government 
that remains very skeptical of the Internet, said Li 
Qiang (protect), Dean of the School of Sociology at 
Tsinghua University.  The vast majority of Chinese 
 
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netizens use the Internet for entertainment and 
business.  Violent online games, not progressive 
political blogs, are seen as most guilty of hooking 
young people and prompting them to behave badly.  But 
any scare that steers kids clear of a medium many 
officials see as a gateway to a trove of subversive 
material that threatens Party authority is a bonus, Li 
reasoned.  (Note: Official statistics released in 
January indicate that the number of Chinese netizens 
rose 23.4 percent in 2006 to 137 million, although the 
real figure is probably higher.  In addition, some 20 
million individuals have launched personal web logs 
online, according to the official China Internet 
Network Information Center.  End note.) 
 
Log On, Tune In, Don't Drop Out 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Li contended that China's top leadership 
realizes that the Internet is the future in terms of 
how people get information about trends and events. 
Against this backdrop, there are currently two Chinas, 
 
BEIJING 00001884  002 OF 003 
 
 
one in which people rely on newspapers for their news 
and one whose citizens go first to the Internet.  The 
latter group is growing quickly, and the Government is 
worried about young people having too much exposure to 
information that might cause them to question the 
Party's authority -- be it on media issues, history or 
current events.  Blogs, discussion forums and other 
sites offer an array of material not available in 
print media, and some of it is politically sensitive. 
Although the Government wants people to use the 
Internet for education and business activity, 
officials fret that people might use their 
unprecedented power to express themselves in a way 
that might harm social stability, such as by 
stimulating a movement or organizing a protest.  The 
anti-Japan protests of 2005 were a wake-up call in 
this regard, Li said. 
 
¶5.  (C) The ban on new Internet cafes is a symbolic 
move that will not diminish young people's desire to 
surf the web or play games, said Ding Xueliang 
(protect), Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment 
for International Peace's fledgling Beijing office 
(currently under the umbrella of the China Reform 
Forum).  In addition, it will have a minimal effect on 
their ability to log on, especially as more and more 
families are able to afford personal computers.  But 
the Central Government directive barring new cafes 
will have a negative trickle down effect through the 
system, Ding predicted, observing that especially when 
it comes to rules that relate to stability or media 
controls, provincial and local governments will err on 
the side of getting tough.  It could also translate 
into closures of existing cafes in some areas. 
Leaders at all levels want to impress superiors in the 
run-up to the 17th Party Congress and they know being 
lax on Internet and media issues is no way to score 
points, Ding related. 
 
Scaring Parents 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Propaganda authorities have handed down no 
specific guidelines on coverage of "Internet 
addiction" issues or the ban on new cybercafes, said 
Zhou Qing'an, an Internet-savvy professor at the 
Tsinghua University School of Journalism and 
 
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Communications.  The Government has deployed 
considerable technical and personnel resources in its 
effort to contain the Internet.  The State Council 
Information Office has issued rule after rule, Zhou 
observed, but enforcement is lax and the firewall 
remains porous.  While there is no concerted effort by 
the Propaganda Department or other information 
agencies to launch a comprehensive campaign against 
"Internet addiction," Zhou, who has contacts in the 
media regulatory world, said officials told him the 
Ministries of Education and Culture are working in 
tandem to get the story out.  He gave no further 
details, but added that as two of the more than 20 
ministries charged with what the Government calls 
"managing" the Internet, they view the effort as 
fulfilling their role in shoring up defenses against 
harmful content. 
 
¶7.  (C) Demographics play a role in the Government's 
approach, Zhou related, remarking that in the view of 
Propaganda guardians, "you can not change the thinking 
of someone over 30, but you can still influence those 
under 30."  Sociologist Li separately made a similar 
point, commenting that given the Government's failure 
so far to ensure that only content it deems 
appropriate makes it through the filters, one 
objective of the "Internet addiction" thrust is to 
enlist parents in the fight -- by scaring them into 
monitoring their children more closely.  Referring to 
China's test-heavy system of educational advancement, 
Li emphasized that "if you want to motivate Chinese 
parents against the Internet, just tell them it is 
affecting their children's studies." 
 
"It's No Worse Than TV" 
----------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) The media has portrayed Internet cafes as 
bastions of crime and seediness.  In fact, Beijing's 
cybersalons do tend to be tucked in smoky basements 
next to billiards parlors or video game arcades.  The 
dreary underground corridor leading to one typical 
establishment in Beijing's bustling Tuanjiehu 
neighborhood is lined with posters cautioning patrons 
 
BEIJING 00001884  003 OF 003 
 
 
about the dangers of gambling and unsafe sex.  (Note: 
Beijing has instituted a rule prohibiting minors under 
18 from entering Internet cafes.  End note.) 
Nonetheless, managers at Internet cafes brushed aside 
the recent publicity onslaught and the restriction on 
new openings.  Yu Tiancheng, who manages a basement 
Internet cafe, said he has had no problem with crime 
during the year he has worked there, although he 
complained that patrons regularly flout the no smoking 
rule.  Yu said his cafe is always busy and is 
particularly packed after schools and offices let out 
in the evening.  He downplayed the negative effects of 
spending a lot of time online.  "It is no worse than 
watching too much television," he remarked. 
RANDT