With more and more youngsters spending hour after hour online, new
legislation is planned to combat juvenile Internet addiction.
Members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC)
yesterday for the second time discussed amending the Law on the Protection of
Minors.
Governments should adopt new measures to organize research into new
technology which could help prevent people younger than 18 from getting addicted
to online games, according to a new prescription added to a fresh draft of the
law.
The new draft also forbids minors from entering Internet cafes, which have
become hotbeds for online gaming and chatting, and even crimes such as gambling
and drug use.
During yesterday's NPC session, Law Committee Chairman Yang Jingyu said he
believed Internet cafes play a negative role in juvenile's growth.
If there were no Internet cafes, students would be able to concentrate on
their studies better, he said, adding that if they need to use the Internet they
can do it at home or at school.
Li Lianning, deputy secretary general and a member of the NPC Standing
Committee, advised that schools should have more computers available for
students to use, to tempt them away from Internet cafes.
But older teenagers, aged 16 to 18, should be allowed in Internet cafes, or
the law will be unenforceable, argued NPC Standing Committee member Ye Rutang.
"For teenagers older than 16, who already earn their own money, it is
unreasonable to forbid them to enter Internet cafes," he said.
In fact, prohibiting people younger than 18 from visiting Internet cafes
would be impossible to enforce in real life, according to Ye.
Cao Zhiqiang, an NPC deputy, expressed his fear that young would-be
information technology talents could be stifled by the campaign, if they were
not allowed into Internet cafes.
Other amendments
As well as changing the Law on the Protection of Minors, NPC Standing
Committee members yesterday discussed a draft amendment to the Property Law for
the sixth time.
Giving equal protection to private and public property was fixed in the
draft.
The draft also said that garages in residential areas should first be offered
to homeowners, instead of being rented to others by real estate
developers.