Chinese Government Still Anti-Online GamblingDate published: 4 May 2010
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As a country where gambling has been a popular pastime for thousands of years, China boast millions upon millions of gambling fans. And with the internet becoming increasingly available, online gambling has become a new trend and one the Chinese government is trying to stamp out. It's no secret that the internet is strictly controlled in China. Just ask the world's leading internet search engine Google. A few weeks ago, fed up with being forced to censor its Chinese search results, Google pulled out of China and directed its web traffic to its uncensored Hong Kong engine. The Chinese government, it seems, is eager to prevent its citizens from accessing and propagating online information deemed to encourage 'political activism' as well as pornography and online gambling. And Chinese authorities are not afraid to punish people involved in any of the above. For instance, several Chinese online gambling operators were recently tried, convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. In a society where the authorities have traditionally taken any course of action they deem appropriate, its citizens have always come off second best. Said the head of the Chinese governmental Information Office in a recent statement: 'We will strengthen the blocking of harmful information from outside China to prevent harmful information from being disseminated in China and withstand online penetration by overseas hostile forces.' In February the Chinese government announced that individuals who want to operate regular websites must meet regulators in person and submit photographs of themselves. Currently over 400 million Chinese are thought to access the internet via computers and/or mobile devices. |
