Policing the internet
This last week my staff went to a meeting at our local Chinese police station. They told us that as of July 1st, 2009 all companies in our area are required to buy a machine or buy into a system that will allow the police to view the content we are viewing on the internet. The reason they gave was that they wanted to ensure we do not view any unsuitable, vulgar, or indecent materials, such as pornography. Putting our internet in the hands of the local police is not a solution.
China has waged a war with unsuitable, vulgar or indecent internet materials such as internet pornography. Both Google and the Chinese search engine Baidu had to give public apologies about allowing unsuitable materials through their search engines.
I personally think it is great that China is taking action to try to stamp out pornography and other lewd sites, but opposing internet pornography is only the beginning of what may become for China’s a real moral dilemma.
I have no problem with China policing and stamping out pornography on the internet, in fact, I praise them for taking a step such as this. But then, what about the other obvious “moral and lewd” behavior that is going on in China? Who is going to police and stamp those out? The late night phone calls you get in some Chinese hotels where a girl on the other end asks for “service.’ This obviously is not a 1:00 am call for room service and it is common knowledge that someone in the hotel is giving these girls the room numbers to call. Or consider the many Gentlemen clubs, Karaoke bars or other places that are ripe spots for prostitution. Countless hotels in China have condoms and other sexual paraphernalia in the hotel rooms—usually in the bathroom right next to the soap and shampoo. Many of these items are quite shocking and would be only seen in adult stores in America. A common sight in Chinese hotels—ranging from five star to one star rating— is to see Chinese men going up to a room with a young girl carefully arrayed with heavy makeup and scanty clothes. The Washington Post estimates that prostitution in China is flourishing, with numbers increasing each year and among all classes of people.
Certainly if China must require me to invest in a machine that connects to the local police station so they can Nanny manage my internet, they should also start closer to home by cleaning up obvious problems like prostitution.