A series of national internet forums have been cancelled as advertisers and sponsors shied away from an area which is experiencing tighter government controls.
Organised by the semi-official Internet Culture Project Committee, the '2004 China Internet Cafe Development Forum' originally planned a tour of 10 cities beginning in June and ending this month, starting with Beijing.
About 400 participants showed up for the Beijing meeting, held on June 18, but yesterday committee deputy secretary-general Shi Ziwen said there was no timetable for the remaining nine forums to be held.
'We don't have money for the rest of the programme,' he said.
'Sponsors seem to have changed their minds, despite [the fact] that the Beijing leg was a success,' he said.
The committee originally intended to finance the forum with a number of sponsors ranging from technology companies to cyber cafes.