14 DAY TRIAL // All the news coming from the Western world could make somebody completely oblivious about what's going on in the Far East, where communism hasn't burst its bubble yet. Censoring video sites, sweeping Internet cafes and hunting down web sites and computer markets for possible dangerously violent games just warm the Chinese people to their government.
In all fairness, their intentions are good. The authorities are only trying to do what is best for the young, as the "Operation for Tomorrow" only tries to cut down on the pupils playing truant because of the games or because of the Internet. Nevertheless, phrases like "[the plan will] use the law to attack, investigate and prosecute ... to cleanse the environment in which young people are raised and prevent and reduce juvenile crime and illegal activity" seem a bit harsh and especially the prosecuting part won't find too many fans.
The Internet cafes have long been targets for the government, especially because they do not enforce the law that wouldn't allow anyone under 18 to cross their doorstep. Charges being thrown at them number encouraging juvenile crime as a way to earn money to play online games, according to the Associated Press. Unlicensed Internet cafes will be shut down on sight.
Xinhua News Agency reported that the plan "especially targets school dropouts, runaways, children of inmates, and children left behind by parents who have migrated for work." Good old discrimination, welcome back!
Some web sites are targeted because they offer unregistered playing platforms or services for gamers that can be downloaded, according to the Chinese agency. They will be added to the list of supervised sites, that so far includes those containing anti-government speech and uncensored news reports with a special mention that pornography sites are downright shut down. By supervised I meant banned, in case that wasn't clear.