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How Fragile is China?
That so many entertainers are a threat to it. I guess if the Screen Actors Guild ever wanted to show off its power during contract negotiation, they could just hop across the Pacific and topple China. That will get more attention than a strike. Heck, Sean Penn should be able to do it singlehandedly.
July 18, 2008
China to Bar Entertainers It Deems Threat
By EDWARD WONG
BEIJING — Foreign entertainers who have taken part in activities that China deems a threat to its sovereignty will not be allowed to perform in the country, according to a new list of rules posted Thursday on the Web site of the Ministry of Culture.
The rules say that the background credentials of performers from foreign countries, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan will be scrutinized carefully. “Those who used to take part in activities that harm our nation’s sovereignty are firmly not allowed to perform in China,” the rules say.
They also call for banning performers who promote ethnic hatred or “advocate obscenity or feudalism and superstition.”
The new rules are the latest attempt by China to clamp down on any political dissent leading up to the Summer Olympics, which begin on Aug. 8. Government officials have set up security checkpoints throughout Beijing, deported foreigners or refused to renew visas, and shut down protests by grieving parents whose children died during school collapses in the May 12 earthquake.
China had promised a more open atmosphere this summer and had told the International Olympic Committee that it would adhere to strict standards for human rights. Many people outside China are now casting serious doubts on China’s commitment to those pledges.
The new rules on performances may have come about after an outburst earlier this year from Bjork, the popular Icelandic singer. She used a concert in Shanghai as a platform to advocate for Tibetan independence. She shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” after performing “Declare Independence,” a song from her 2007 album, “Volta.” The outcry drew sharp criticism from Chinese Internet users and praise from international supporters of an independent Tibet.
The Chinese government often says the invasion of Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army in 1950 led to the overthrow of a feudal system that was kept in place by the Dalai Lama and his predecessors.
Interestingly, the new rules on entertainment also apply to performers from Hong Kong and Macau, both former European colonies now administered by China. In Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island off the coast of Fujian Province, some entertainers are advocates of formal independence for Taiwan and are considered dangerous elements by Chinese officials.
Huang Yuanxi contributed research.
China to Bar Entertainers It Deems Threat
By EDWARD WONG
BEIJING — Foreign entertainers who have taken part in activities that China deems a threat to its sovereignty will not be allowed to perform in the country, according to a new list of rules posted Thursday on the Web site of the Ministry of Culture.
The rules say that the background credentials of performers from foreign countries, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan will be scrutinized carefully. “Those who used to take part in activities that harm our nation’s sovereignty are firmly not allowed to perform in China,” the rules say.
They also call for banning performers who promote ethnic hatred or “advocate obscenity or feudalism and superstition.”
The new rules are the latest attempt by China to clamp down on any political dissent leading up to the Summer Olympics, which begin on Aug. 8. Government officials have set up security checkpoints throughout Beijing, deported foreigners or refused to renew visas, and shut down protests by grieving parents whose children died during school collapses in the May 12 earthquake.
China had promised a more open atmosphere this summer and had told the International Olympic Committee that it would adhere to strict standards for human rights. Many people outside China are now casting serious doubts on China’s commitment to those pledges.
The new rules on performances may have come about after an outburst earlier this year from Bjork, the popular Icelandic singer. She used a concert in Shanghai as a platform to advocate for Tibetan independence. She shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” after performing “Declare Independence,” a song from her 2007 album, “Volta.” The outcry drew sharp criticism from Chinese Internet users and praise from international supporters of an independent Tibet.
The Chinese government often says the invasion of Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army in 1950 led to the overthrow of a feudal system that was kept in place by the Dalai Lama and his predecessors.
Interestingly, the new rules on entertainment also apply to performers from Hong Kong and Macau, both former European colonies now administered by China. In Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island off the coast of Fujian Province, some entertainers are advocates of formal independence for Taiwan and are considered dangerous elements by Chinese officials.
Huang Yuanxi contributed research.
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