China Continues Persecution of Internet Teenagers

Another 14-year-old boy allegedly beaten at a boot camp in China for young Internet addicts was in critical condition Thursday, less than three weeks after a youth at a different camp died, Chinese state media reported.

People sit at a wireless cafe in Beijing, using their laptop computers.

Internet use has skyrocketed in China, especially among teens and Chinese parents have turned to hundreds of training camps that offer to wean their children -- mostly teenagers -- from excessive Internet use.

There are at least 400 private rehabilitation clinics or camps in the country, according to a recent survey by the China Youth Internet Association, adding that China has 10 million teenage Web addicts but the Chinese Ministry of Health says none of the private rehab clinics are legally registered.

The parents of Pu Liang, the injured teen, had sent him to a camp called the Anti-traditional Education Training Center on August 4 near Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, Chinese media reported.

Pu allegedly was beaten three times between August 4 and August 11. Police discovered the boy in solitary confinement last week and he was taken to a hospital, according to media reports.

His parents accused a counselor at the camp and Pu's peers of repeatedly hitting him, Chinese media said, adding that particular camp has been closed.

"He is suffering from water on the lungs (pneumonia) and kidney failure," Pu's father, Pu Shiwei, told the publication China View on Wednesday. "All injuries were done by the people at the camp."

The training cenere denied that a counselor beat the youth, contending Pu was hit by other campers because he couldn't get along with them, China View reported.

Authorities in Zhongjiang county, where the camp is located, said they detained the counselor after a report of alleged abuse from the parents of another child.

The man who established the military-style camp, Wu Yongjing, admitted to the BBC that youngsters were sometimes subjected to "physical punishment."

"Physical punishment is an effective way to educate children -- as long as it can be controlled," he said in an online story Wednesday.

The injured youth's mother told Chinese media that her son "got addicted to online games and frequented Internet cafes ... at the end of last semester, my son said he didn't want to go to school."

The mother, Li Shubing, saw an ad for the training camp and hoped her son could be helped, she told China Daily. The parents signed a contract with the center and paid 5,000 yuan (about $730), she said.

In a separate incident, 15-year-old Deng Senshan died after his parents sent him to a summer training camp for his Internet addiction, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua. That camp was in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

China Detains 13 people: Death At Internet Addiction Camp

Chinese police have detained 13 people for questioning, following the death by beating of a teenager at an Internet addiction camp in southern China.

The Qihang Salvation Training Camp, one of many boot camp-style centers for Internet obsession in China, was 'found to be unlicensed' and closed down on Friday, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Parents of 122 other students took them home from the camp in Guangxi province, whilst police investigate the case.

Deng Senshan killed
A week earlier, a 15-year-old boy Deng Senshan, was allegedly put in solitary confinement, scolded and beaten to death within one day of his arrival at the camp. The boy's father found his bloodied body in a local hospital, where camp staff said they had sent him because of a severe fever.

Family Divisions
Other Internet addiction camps in China are licensed and subsidised by the government. Conservative officials blame hugely popular online games like World of Warcraft for getting teens hooked on the Web, harming their grades in school, creating anti-social behaviour and causing divisions in the family, especially with their parents.

Shock Treatment
Some of the camps have used shock treatment and aversion therapy on students, but China has since banned this practice, last month.

Cybercrime
Separately, China in recent weeks detained two hackers for stealing 450 million won (US$368,000) from South Korean bank accounts, Xinhua said.

The suspects, based in a Chinese city that borders North Korea, had stolen the money from 86 South Korean nationals over more than a year, it said. South Korean police had asked China to help crack the cross-border case, the report said.

Chinese Teenager Killed At Internet Addict Boot Camp

An innocent 15-year-old boy has reportedly been beaten to death by Chinese 'Tutors' hours after arriving at a boot camp for internet addicts in China.

The teenager was declared dead after arriving at hospital in the nearby town of Wuxu. This incident happens only weeks after 'Electirc Shock' treatment is banned.

Deng Senshan was sent to the camp for a month to 'cure' him of his 'addiction'. Police are investigating the incident after Deng Senshan was found with multiple injuries over his body.

They have arrested four trainers from the camp, which attempts to 'cure' youngsters of their web 'addiction' by forcing them to replace hours in front of the computer with gruelling military-style drills.

The boy's father Deng Fei told how he paid 7,000 yuan (£600) to send his son to Guangxi Qihang Survival Training Camp for a month.

He said his son was put in solitary confinement within hours of his arrival and was then beaten to death by staff after they "scolded" him for running too slowly.

"My son was very healthy and was not a criminal. He just had an internet addiction when I left him at the camp," he said. "The police informed us that our child had died. We can't believe our only son was beaten to death."

Our methods are tough but do not include torture or other methods that might damage a child's health. - Guangxi Qihang Survival Training Camp's Mission Statement