Banned!

I know that this is going on in Beijing, but are you talking about Zhuhai?

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Up until now, I've had more problems in my life than a cub scout at the Neverland Ranch...

after getting the tip that bar st was closing for the o-bloody-lympics i went straight to the source. so far all bull, progressing as usual, but any things possible. late news from oz is that the olympic journalists can now access the sites causing the banning furore. its a movable feast [ no, not those working girls]

This is something that should give you a giggle or two. Apparently, "word" has yet to reach Zhuhai.

For Beijing, Etiquette Isn't a Game
By LORETTA CHAO
August 1, 2008; Page A7

BEIJING -- From pollution to terrorism, the list of worries Beijing officials have to contend with is substantial, with fashion now apparently one of them.

Beijing officials have distributed 4.3 million copies of an etiquette book outlining rules on good manners and foreign customs, including rules about what not to wear. The guide is part of an effort by various departments within China's government to clean the city up in preparation for the at least 400,000 foreign visitors who are expected to descend on its capital for the Olympic Games, which start Aug. 8.
[Beijing 2008] BEIJING 2008

Read complete coverage of the Olympics and China's efforts to prepare for the Games.

Among the no-no's: more than three color shades in an outfit, white socks with black shoes, and pajamas and slippers in public.

"No matter what, never wear too many colors...especially during formal occasions," the book said. "When you wear [formal shoes], be sure to wear socks in good condition...socks should be a dark color -- never match black leather shoes with white socks."

"Older women should choose shoes with heels that aren't too high," it said.

The book, published by the Beijing Municipal Government's Capital Ethic Development Office, is part of the department's effort to make Beijing more "civilized," officials said.

Along the same lines, Beijing authorities announced earlier this year that they would step up efforts to fine people who spit in public as much as 50 yuan ($7.33).

Other guidelines range from the obvious to overly specific. Public displays of affection aren't acceptable, for example. In a section about escalators and elevators, the book said people should place their hands on escalator railings to avoid falling. It then addresses a pet peeve of many in Beijing: "When entering an elevator...let people walk out before you enter," it said. It goes on to say riders should look only straight ahead and never stare at other passengers.
[Wearing pajamas and flip-flops in public is a fashion faux pas according to an etiquette book released by Beijing officials.]
Getty Images
Wearing pajamas and flip-flops in public is a fashion faux pas according to an etiquette book released by Beijing officials.

It also warns readers of the "Eight Things Not to Ask" foreigners, including their age, marital status, income or religious and political beliefs.

The guidelines appear somewhat stringent by many standards. When asked about the three-color rule, Lea Li, contributing editor to Vogue China, said, "Lots of great designer brands use more than three colors on one shoe...it's not about calculation, it's aesthetics."

Beijing fashion has come a long way since she got her degree in fashion design 15 years ago, Ms. Li said. "The most famous foreign brand in China was Pierre Cardin," she said. "People didn't have models to copy at the time...they just copied hair styles from Hong Kong TV shows or movies."

"People pay more attention to their style...the number [who do] is increasing rapidly," Ms. Li said.

It remains to be seen how Beijing residents will take to the guidelines, though one Beijing student whose high school distributed the book said she thought it inconsequential, stowed it away and hasn't seen it since.

Some quipped that someone should forward the memo to all the foreigners arriving in sweat pants and flip flops.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121752752638401551-1iY1c5O4z5mFSQ...

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Up until now, I've had more problems in my life than a cub scout at the Neverland Ranch...

Orrin, that is unbelievable! thanks for sharing.

I think they could have spent the money and time this cost on better VISA processing and policies.

Yes its true music is banned in the bar street i was there last week and cohiba and other bars didnt have any music playing.Infact they have also removed the big screens recently put by cohiba bar.
Reason: god knows

JEWEL OF INDIA . TASTE OF ELEGANCE !!!!

that post is priceless orrin.id be sad if the jammies ever left the scene here .something sweet and innocent about it. nice to hear something light about these doom and gloom bloody games. the live music ban is just inexcusable.to be so protective of audience share is incredible. on the bright side... ive decided if i cant beat em ill join em SO.......

NOW LADIES GENTLEMEN IN 3 WEEKS AFTER THE BLOODY OLYMPICS: APPEARING AT RYANS BAR EXCLUSIVELY ..................... PRESSSSSENTINGGGGGGG ...................................
..........CCHHOPPPPERRRRRRRR............................ ...... DAA DAHHHH!!!!!
HEAR ONE SONG AND GET ONE FREE!!!!!!
HOW AM I DOING. I EVEN PRESSED ENTER. AND USED CAPITALS. i trust the lingua franca will be appreciated . DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS? its free? wow what a hoot. wanna buy a watch? [chopper uses and endorses only maple leaf guitars and amplifiers ]

Hey Rude had live music last night during the Expat's Happy Hour...

No it is not "okay for whores to work in hotels or walk up and down LianHua road spreading their...disease" but many of them have few other choices in life. A lot of people here never had the education and opportunities that you had Zurdo. It takes more than one to spread a desease. Sadly if they do crack down they will likely round up the girls but not the male buyers. Same story in every country.

CC, don't take that comment too seriously, these are probably just personal observations about what happens in china that sometimes dumbfold the writers, and they are not intended to cause any political conflicts in the forum...

don't know if this explanation would make some sense: a government is trying to minimize mass public gathering by making them less attractive for the public to attend to protect the public from sometimes catastrophic and unavoidable events, where sometimes there is not enough government presence to protect the people....

sometimes these decisions are not as bad as they look...these are just some sacrifices we have to deal with for a greater cause...

all these screening at the airports after 9/11 has already saved a couple maybe hundreds or thousands of lives....

oh god ! plz sb. confirms the closing downs of bar st!!!!!! I invited friends to come for the opening...poor thing...how am i gonna bring them to?! that's rubbish.

-anr Katkout..e una bella ..

tailvrrey... you are comparing screening at airports and banning live music? be reasonable my friend...

KT: I did not hear anything about the closing of bar street... was there yesterday and everything was fine, just a bit quieter than usual...

JJ, i am just bringing up to compare the inconveniences both can cause, yet both are for security reasons...one might not seem as apparent as the other one...small price to pay for security don't you think?

i personally haven't heard anything or seen any new "temporary(?)" regulations on the bar streets, but i do believe a government has a reason (which some might not want to think about and just cliche it as unreasonable) behind the decisions made...

anyone has any or know where to find any paperwork on how the 'ban' of live shows is worded in the regulation? i am curious, but does this affect restaurants, other public areas, schools, ktv...? is that just a zhuhai thingie? did HK or macau get affected?

thx JJ!~!

-anr Katkout..e una bella ..

On the way back from Macau today I had 4 passport checks (1 macau side and 3 china side): police officers could speak some english, were very courteous... fine: happy to see that security is taken seriously.
But banning live music sounds ridiculous, especially if discos are still tolerated.
In HK now, where nightlife is booming as usual, despite the fact that Hk is hosting on the the olympics event. So stopping the Bu Hao Boys to play at Live bar in Zhuhai sounds absurd. Just my opinion of course... and I don't know anything about the regulations or the end of all this.
Anyway, opening day is tomorrow and I hope France will get a lot of medals, hehe :)
Enjoy the party at Ryan's for those who are going... should be good!

I totally agree with JJ. What do live music and the smolympics have to do with each other?

I guess we are not allowed to have fun cause they are not allowed how to have fun. Or perhaps they don't know HOW to have fun..

If there are bad people (terrorists) posing a threat in Sydney, will all bars in Adelaide close down and ban live music?

PROPAGANDA!

I'm here for a good time..not a long time!

Hey JJ, I was just back from Bar St, it's being unusually quiet, Red and the Rude are the only bars which has music inside!!!!!!

I totally disagree with such bans, oh just nonsense! Give my music back, what brings me to Bar St. if there are no music around? Any way someone from Rude told me there's a bikini bubble party on 30th Aug. But for the Olym. reasons he said it should be told privately! I'll just fingercross for such fun fun party then..

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mi chiamo Keity

guess the reason for the (not exactly) "ban" wasn't for making it less attractive for people to go...even though still kinda-security related...but, still don't believe it is unreasonable to reinforce a rule, especially at the time security is serious?

think the use of ban word might have been a bit misleading too...

blame Björk for trying to play free speech game in a still sensitive communist government...

if everything is in check, just need to go through the trouble to get licensed i guess - good luck with the red tape i guess... live performances are required licenses in other countries too...and it looks like if they're reinforcing before olympics, they might be tighter on the reinforcement after the olympics too.... just like many other things in china...

anyways, these are from the news...it would be good if someone could confirm it...

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1824125,00.html?xid=feed-c...

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/08/07/sports/national/n_sport...

blame bjork?
its not unreasonable to ban live music?
the word ban is misleading?
please, which countries need licences for live music.? ive performed in quite a few and never seen it.
no matter what they feed some people .it gets eaten up. ive resisted the urge to tee off.

yup, were those done 'legally'? even in china?
not that it matters, but there might be regulations that not many is aware of...
i don't know what exactly the licenses are for, but i know in countries other than china, some registration paperwork is certainly required before doing any live performances (not music) in public areas, and in places like local bars and restaurants, it is required to register with the local government...if u're all check, it's just paperwork bureaucracy...

"no matter what they feed some people .it gets eaten up."
yep, exactly!

go for the tee, if it makes you feel better =)

like i said, which countries? you must have missed that. how are your gigs going over the olympics. all ok? mine are banned. yes banned. no misleading use of the word. can you help me with the paperwork to circumvent this little quirk?
so now its "live performances [ not music]" that require this pesky little detail. please share.
i can back up my comments. yours are... best left unanswered.
no mention of bjork either.
is it reasonable to ban [yes ban] live music? waiting for your views with interest . my guess is another vanishing act when the kitchen warms up a tad.

well, chopper, sorry to hear about the incident...

yep, i am not clear on what happened with what you call ban, and i wish to learn more about it too, that's why i said earlier for someone to confirm it. would you elaborate on what happened with you? did the place you want to play your music in not let you because the cops are not allowing live music? with or without license? were there any explanation on why they were not letting you play it? [i am asking an honest question, please take it literally] anyways, is the license rule deal actually something that's in place right now, that you know of?

well, i know in brazil and taiwan (if u wanna label as country) that live performances need registration, especially larger events, where security and traffic is concerned, when government need to setup stuff for organizing. but i don't know about smaller live performances in bars and restaurants though, i believe there are regulations to do such - sometimes not well enforced. in u.s., at least in the college town i lived, any slightest events need registering and approval to do...with the school and local authorities too... don't know about the rest of the country.

no, it does not seem reasonable to ban live music, it sucks not to have live music or even music at bars or discos...but IF, only saying IF, it's for security reasons, don't know why we can't accept it....if it's reasonable to ban passengers to bring bottled water, even if it's evident that it's water, on a plane for security reasons, just don't know why a ban on live music - maybe to avoid social disorder, as a result of a previous incident - would seem unreasonable....i know there are some politics behind the reason, but heck, it's the price we're having to pay for wanting to live in china...

most forms of entertainment require licensing in the UK including busking, dj's,bands etc. of course this is not comparable to the current 'ban'here and bjork is just shit, i mean experimental...anyway i hear Richard Gere is planning to save the day with a particularly beautiful buddhist chant that will open the hearts and minds of the leaders to peace, love and unity.If that does'nt work Rich says his gerbil will be out for revenge...

They have closed a lot of the bars here in Shekou. I guess if you wanted a girl you would have to dial for a home delivery.
Havent heard about music bans but I will find out tonight. I think I am glad I have to go back to Australia for two weeks. Hopefully a lot of the strange decisions will be over by the time I come back.