Combining sympathy with discipline, a military-style boot camp near Beijing is at the front-line of China’s battle against internet addiction, a disorder afflicting millions of the nation’s youth, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

The government-funded Daxing center, run by an army colonel under the Beijing Military Hospital, is one of a handful of clinics treating patients with internet addictions in China.

Patients, overwhelmingly male and aged 14 to 19, wake up in common dormitories at 6:15am to do morning calisthenics and march on the cracked concrete grounds wearing khaki fatigues.

Drill sergeants bark orders at them when they are not attending group and one-on-one counseling sessions. Therapy includes patients simulating war games with laser guns.

China will not allow any new internet cafes to open this year. Approximately 113,000 are currently in operation.

Combining sympathy with discipline, a military-style boot camp near Beijing is at the front-line of China’s battle against internet addiction, a disorder afflicting millions of the nation’s youth, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
The government-funded Daxing center, run by an army colonel under the Beijing Military Hospital, is one of a handful of clinics treating patients [...]