Fears of a 'no-fun' Olympics in Beijing

    * Mary-Anne Toy, Beijing
    * July 19, 2008

FEARS of a "no fun Olympics" are growing as security restrictions
increase and become more bizarre with less than 20 days to go until
the opening ceremony.

Beijing police have been visiting bar owners in the popular Sanlitun
area and asking them to sign pledges agreeing to not serve black
people or Mongolians and ban activities including dancing.

Bar owners said that police have been clamping down on black people
and Mongolians, who are sometimes implicated in drug dealing and
prostitution, as part of an Olympic clean-up campaign that they and
locals fear will make for a secure but sterile Games.

Maggies, Beijing's most notorious expatriate bar, referred to as the
"Mongolian embassy" because of its popularity with Mongolian
prostitutes and Western men, was shut suddenly about two months ago
after a reported murder.

The gay bar Destination has also been ordered to shut down its dance
bar until further notice.

And in a separate move, the Ministry of Public Security announced at
the start of the month that from October 1, discos, karaoke bars and
other entertainment venues must install transparent partitions in
previously private rooms, and ensure staff dress more modestly as part
of an effort to crack down on prostitution and drugs.

The Minister of Culture announced on Thursday that all overseas
entertainers who have ever attended activities that "threaten national
sovereignty" will be banned. This follows an outburst by Icelandic
singer Bjork at a Shanghai concert on March 2, which sparked an
official investigation.

Bjork shouted out, "Tibet, Tibet," after performing her song Declare
Independence.

A notice on the Ministry's website on Thursday said that entertainers
who "threaten national unity", "whip up ethnic hatred", "violate
religious policy or cultural norms" or "advocate obscenity or
feudalism and superstition" will be banned. "Feudalism and
superstition" are often code words used by the Chinese Government to
refer to Tibetans loyal to the Dalai Lama. The move follows the
detention of several prominent Tibetan singers.

Beijing CBD businesses are reporting increasingly bizarre restrictions
on couriers. This includes a ban on transporting CD-ROMs through the
city, and mobile phones or GPS devices can only be sent if their
batteries are delivered separately. This is on top of postal
restrictions on sending liquids and powders.

At least six big bars and restaurants inside the Beijing Workers'
Stadium compound - where Olympic soccer matches will be held - have
been ordered to shut ahead of the Olympics and during Games time.

Hundreds of armed checkpoints on the main roads coming into Beijing
were introduced two weeks ago, and non-Beijing-registered vehicles
have been banned until after the Olympics, a move that is causing
massive delays and extra costs for businesses.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/fears-of-a-nofun-olympics-in-beijing-20080718-3hkb.html

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