Cybercafés in China: Community Access beyond Gaming and Tight Government Control

This article offers a historical overview and critique of cybercafés in China. Four phases of development are introduced: the initial “technological enlightenment” phase of the late 1990s; the turbulent, “crackdown” years after 1999; the new growth period of 2004–2008; and the latest phase of consolidation since 2009. By reviewing the key incidents, players, and official statistics, this paper goes beyond the popular issues of gaming and crackdowns to offer a more comprehensive contextualization and explanation. It interrogates the relationship between the cybercafé and the community, and offers analysis of three fundamental issues—job creation in the community, affordable leisure activities, and youth socialization beyond family. Results from a news discourse analysis are then presented to show how the Chinese press reported on cybercafés from 2000–2009, how their news frames changed, and alternative modes of understanding and operating cybercafés. The paper concludes by presenting the broader implications for community informatics in China that can be drawn from the examination of cybercafés.published or submitted for publicatio