China's video game ban sparks anger on social media. Published on Sep 4.

This is the first weekend since China's new online video game restriction went into effect. Kids under 18, who are banned from playing during weekdays, have flooded gaming platforms, crashing the server of Honor of Kings (王者荣耀), one of China's most popular games.

And it's trending number one on Weibo.

Many on Weibo are making fun of the server crash and how desperate kids are. But some also pointed out that kids in China are often under heavy pressure from school. Weekends are the only time for them to relax. Server down means that they now won't even get to enjoy that.

The above post also mentioned something that has been quite talked about since the restriction was announced, that the state seems to think that kids have no self-control over video games until 18, but the age for sexual consent is 14.

Many also question whether banning video games can propel students to study more. Whether entertainment is the core source (or should be seen as a form) of distraction has been debated for a long time. If you have been on Chinese internet long enough, you sure remember 杨教授...

...Professor Yang, or 羊叫兽, is a Chinese psychiatrist known for using electroshocks on children who were diagnosed with "internet addiction". He first came into the public eye 13 or so years ago and caused enormous amount of controversy.

He was first celebrated by the state, but was ridiculed, mocked, even hated by internet users at the time. As time goes on, positive views on him dropped tremendously. He became a universal villain. However, to my knowledge, he has never been punished for his inhumane therapies.

The current game ban is new. But it's nonetheless an extension or continuation of a cultural, social and political debate that has been going on for a long long time.