Some of them go to Internet bars to enjoy themselves while escaping the supervision of their parents and teachers, Xinhua news agency reported.

These revelations by Xu Xi'an, director of Beijing Education Commission, at the ongoing fourth session of the 11th Beijing Municipal People's Congress, triggered heated arguments among delegates.

Zhang Rongfang, a local teacher, proposed that Beijing should clamp down on all Internet cafes, following the example of Shenzhen in the south, to protect youngsters from falling into bad habits.

But other experts insisted that the convenient and abundant information on the Internet plays a positive role in developing intelligence among youngsters and widening their horizons.

It is the government's duty to guide students in healthy directions, and laws and regulations are also necessary to supervise the booming Internet business, said Xu.

Meanwhile, members of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have urged society, as a whole, to pay attention to the adverse influence of the Internet on people's thinking, Xinhua reported.

Chen Jinbiao said, "We cannot any more neglect the influence of the Internet on youngsters' growth and development."

He added that a number of teenagers are addicted to the Internet and some are even suffering from, what he called, the "Internet Syndrome."

A college student in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province, for example, suffered from a mental disorder after visiting Internet bars for 14 days.

(Eastday.com 02/13/2001)