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Beijing Internet cafes reopen after fire
09:14 Thursday 18th July 2002
Reuters
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Some cyber-cafes have reopened their doors, but with more stringent safety measures
A few Beijing Internet cafes have reopened -- minus violent video games and smoking -- a month after a cybercafe fire that killed 25 people prompted China's capital to shut them all, newspapers have said.
Some 30 Internet cafes reopened on Wednesday after publicly pledging to refuse entry to people under 18, ban smoking and close between midnight and 8:00 am, the official China Daily said.
The cafes also took fire safety measures such as unlocking doors and windows, removing barriers that blocked exits and installing fire fighting equipment, the Xinhua news agency said.
Gambling, violent video games and noisy behaviour were also banned, Xinhua said.
City authorities closed some 2,400 Internet cafes last month after the city's worst fire in more than 50 years tore through an unlicensed cafe, killing 25 people.
Police detained two teenage boys accused of starting the fire because the owners would not let them in.
Authorities said some 90 percent of Internet cafes in Beijing were unlicensed.
Beijing had also set up a Web site, telephone hotline and postal address for people to report illegal Internet cafes or violations of the new measures, Xinhua said.
The Chinese government is in the midst of a long battle with Internet cafes and Web companies, which have proven more difficult to censor and control than traditional media. Yahoo!'s Chinese Web site recently agreed not to publish material that goes against the grain of the Chinese authorities' regulations.
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