A group of academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) signed their names on a 100-meter long roll of cloth in Beijing Monday in a campaign urging the public to help on-line-game-addicted children.

The campaign, known as the "Nationwide Action to Protect Internet-addicted Youth," was initiated by the newspaper China Science Times. Among the signers are Wu Wenjun, a CAS academician and mathematician, and Zheng Zhemin, a CAE member and dynamicist.

Zhang Chunliang, one of the organizers of the campaign and author of "Rush Over the Internet", spoke at the signing ceremony, calling on the public to find ways compatible to China's situation to rescue these young addicts.

A few days ago, Zhang announced that he would sue the on-line game business for a youngster who has allegedly committed suicide due to over-indulgence in on-line games.

A psychological expert from the General Hospital of the Beijing Area Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) attributed on-line addiction to psychological problems.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2005)