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China urges restrictions on performers

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The government warned foreign performers and entertainers against harming China's sovereignty or ethnic unity, a sign of increasing nervousness over live performances weeks before the Olympic Games.

China is ratcheting up security ahead of the Aug. 8-24 games in an all-out attempt to shield the event from disruptions that could tarnish China's carefully cultivated image of order and control.

Also on Friday, The Shanghai Daily reported that Beijing's airport will close for about four hours during the opening ceremony on Aug. 8. The newspaper did not give a reason for the closure, which will affect dozens of flights.

China should strengthen its rules about foreign performers and performers from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, a notice on the Ministry of Culture's Web site said, including checks on their background.

"The content of the performance should not violate the country's law, including situations that harm the sovereignty of the country," the notice said.

Chinese authorities were alarmed in March after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted "Tibet! Tibet!" at the end of her concert in Shanghai in March.

Authorities said Bjork's outburst "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings," and vowed to be stricter on foreign performers.

The notice said performances should also not harm China's "national security, or incite racial hatred and ruin ethnic unity."

Performers should also not promote pornography and superstition, it said.

The rules were first introduced in 2005, but the notice acts as warning and reinforcement during a sensitive time weeks from the opening of the Olympic Games. Agencies that bring foreign performers to China will be banned for two years if they violate the rules, it said.

Musicians in Beijing have gone into hibernation this summer as live performances have been stopped in bars, a music festival canceled, and clubs suddenly told they need a live performance license.
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4 responses // China urges restrictions on performers

  • I wander if the chinese government is also worried about the hurt feelings of the people murdered in the tibet border by the army, the monks beaten and oppressed or the feelings of the families of the killed in the protest in Tiananmen square.
    mundosanto
  • I still do not understand why the Olympics are being held in this god forsaken totalitarian state.....whose very practices ( torture) and values( repression) are seriously in violation of free expression, international cooperation and the free spirit of the olympic tradition.

    Those responsible for this should win a place in the all time losers hall of fame. China is presenting a lie to the whole world in this Olympic Games......they are too embarrased that they eat dogs, torture people, spit on every inch of concrete, and terrorize, repress and imprison people for their views and beliefs, and have shamelessly polluted their own cities beyond recognition.... to embarrased to show the real face of the Chinese Government's policies and negligence....so they spend billions to save face and show the world a lie.....while repressing performers and any possible source of truth as to the real face of Beijing.
    ninja_tiger
  • LONG LIVE TIBET AND SHAME ON THE CHINESE FOR THE HUMAN AND CULTURAL GENOCIDE OF THE TIBETAN PEOPLE SINCE THE 1950's. TOO BAD THE UN AND OTHER NATIONS NEVER HAD THE B_LLS TO STEP IN AND STOP THE MURDER AND TORTURE OF MILLIONS OF TIBETANS.........MAYBE TIBET DID NOT HAVE OIL OR HALIBURTON WOULD SURELY HAVE RALLIED OUR TROOPS TO COME TO THE RESCUE.

    THE DALAI LAMA SENT DIPLOMATIC PLEAS FOR HELP (DURING THE EARLY TIMES OF THE CHINESE INVASION) TO MOST ALL POWERFULL NATIONS AND NOT ONE RESPONDED.
    ninja_tiger
  • Im totally convinced that they were allowed to host the Olympics in an effort to push them to make the changes that will take them closer to a democracy, and also to put all the problems of the chinese government under the eye of the international community and make them correct them.

    But somehow the chinese government went away with it and evaded the social responsibility that represent hosting this event.

    Everybody underestimated the power of the chinese political propaganda and their ability to masquerade and hide the truth and let the people see and know only what they want.

    Now we have the same rotten apple but covered in caramel.
    mundosanto

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