- This FF has banned all entertainers from overseas who have ever attended activities that "threaten national sovereignty
- They are currently lobbying to ban the attendance of babies and small children at two vital ceremonies during a very special event
- They also want to restrict the use of cameras at one of the world’s greatest sporting events
- They have not guaranteed journalist access to ‘banned sites’ such as Wikipedia and the BBC
. . . today’s Friday Fuckwit is of course . . . the Chinese Government.
After the lovely Bjork shouted “Tibet! Tibet” at a Shanghai concert and performed "Declare Independence" recently, the ban was put into place.
"Any artistic group or individual who have ever engaged in activities which threaten our national sovereignty will not be allowed in," the Ministry of Culture said in a statement on its website. During performances, entertainers who "threaten national unity", "whip up ethnic hatred", "violate religious policy or cultural norms" or "advocate obscenity or feudalism and superstition", will also be banned, the rules state
Lets see . . well that puts Slipknot and Nine Inch Nails out of contention and I’m guessing the Living End and U2 are a little edgy for the Chinese . . .
The new rules come on top of Beijing banning pop festivals and tightening approvals for outdoor events in the months leading up to the Olympics, where it fears security threats from unruly crowds and potential protesters. Even encores need to be approved in advance, the ministry added. "Nothing that has not been approved will be allowed to be performed," it said.
Personally, I think entertainers are the least of China’s problems. They should be far more concerned about the state of the sailing site! Then again, I won't be watching, they can swim in custard or push jelly uphill with a hot pin for all I care! Sing it luv!
17 comments:
Shhh, you'll anger our future overlords :-(
Yeah. Bunch of numbnuts the lot of em.
Hheheh. I think it an interresting thing they do.... Poor Chinese... So now, we can see how their government really is.... Maybe this Olympic thing will make some people (who usually don't care) realize what is happening in this cruel World.... Or maybe I'm just a dreamer....
Thrifty you know . . it frightens me a load that you might just be right. If not politically, certainly economically . .we are the worst offenders . . our economy is built on the resource supply to China.
Bienvenue Merlinprincess . . I am stunned at the insensitivity of the Olympic authority that actually allowed the games to be held there in the first place. Perhaps embracing the west for a couple of weeks may illucidate some of the general population. Dream on!
they have also hired 200,000 folk as 'official cheerleaders'...
but then, the olympics have been a joke for a long time... 'amateur athletes' my ass.... grrrrr
The sooner the oil runs out the better, if you ask me.
It's disturbing just how much of a blind eye is being turned by the rest of the worlds governments to ensure there's no impact to the bottom line. Fuckwits of the month for sure.
I agree wholeheartedly with this "award"
How on earth did they get the Olmypics in the first place, it's a complete disgrace, maybe Zimbabwe will be getting the games next ???
LW I'm surprised they were 'hired' and not just instructed to show up! The Olympics in Sydney was a wonderful time contrary to expectations. The city had never been safer, happier, busier . . .I wouldn't attend the Olympics in China for . .well . . all the tea in China!
Thrifty, I don't deny them the opportunity to modernise, the west has done it, who are we to dictate to the Chinese or the Indians for that matter . . .it's their politics and human rights that irk me. They're more paranoid than the Americans and a frightened dog is a dangerous one.
Quicky, ours is the worst with our Mandarin speaking leader who 'objects' to their human rights dogma but continues to pour iron, copper, coal etc. into the chinese economy. So much for living off the sheep's back.
Thanks Megan, I thought you might.
Moon, I've posted about this before and the total irisponsibility of the Olympic Selection Committee, they seem to be swayed by presentation spectacle rather than common sense. Then as I've said before, common sense is unusually uncommon!
I also think that the athletes should accept some responsibility here. I know they train, they work hard but there are some events in some nations that simply should not be endorsed and this is one of them. Our cricketers won't play in Zimbabwe and our athletes should boycott the Chinese games.
Biano : It's touigh, but yes I agree.. never should any cricketer play in Zimbabwe, and morally, I would never go to China for the games... it's just wrong
Good choice for Friday Fuckwit Award!
Why can't the Chinese do as they please? Every other nation is dependent on its cheap supply of human labor. Go to your grocery and department stores. Chances are, the reason merchandize is cheap is due to it being manufactured in China. Cheap fish is farmed in China, disposable furniture is made in China, kitchenwares, bricks, autoparts, fabric, machines...made in China. Chinese athletes can't be blamed. They are pawns of the government. The people are oppressed. Unless the Chinese people themselves clamour for change, nothing will happen. No foreign intervention can alter the course of a people's destiny unless the people themselves want it. Democracy is not an imported value. It is borne within a nation. Their history bears it. The Chinese and Tibetans will have to create their own martyrs, . Even Tibet will have to create more martyrs. I know it sounds suicidal but that is exactly what happened in the Philippines. For 25 years they were ruled by a dictator until they had enough. Then the Catholic church led the people's march in the streets. The Cardinal (his name was Sin) did not stop the nuns from from holding prayer vigils. Millions marched in the streets. Not a gun was fired, nor blood shed during the actual People Power's march, but hundreds, thousands of Filipinos (mostly students) were martyred for years. The dictator fled after the US convinced him his time was up. This prevented bloodshed. I don't think anything like that will happen in China, not for a very long time. Their history never mentions democracy and individual freedom as a guiding principle. Unlike the Philippines which during the sultan, rajah and datu allowed daughters to be the datuna, sultana and rajahna in the absence of a male heir and during 500 years of Spanish oppression did not succumb to slavery, the Chinese does not have any democratic foundation. Come to think of it, there is no clamour about the massacre at Myanmar, how the people continue to suffer during the recent natural disaster. The United Nations, G8 nations, NATO, ASEAN, etc. all denounced the massacre but since the people were subdued by their own government, no one continued the revolution. It is sad but the people themselves must want to be free. Freedom and democracy are lofty goals but it requires a lot of discipline, hard work, sacrifice and martyrdom, which is why socialist, authoritarian and dictatorship countries continue to thrive. Every country must have a Patrick Henry or Gabriela Silang.
Ces, I hear you. And I'm not looking to deride Chinese Athletes, indeed, if you are an
Athlete in China or an Artist, your life is priviledged. Read Mao's Last Dancer.
I have two issues.
1. If you are kept in the dark about how the world operates and you think the system is all there is,you adopt quiet resignation
2. If you live in an oppressive regime that punishes democratic or humanitarian sentiment, as in Tienanmin Square . .you are afraid or brave.
The Chinese people will have to determine for themselves whether the regime under which they live is appropriate or not. I also look to Russia and Glasnost which was not good for many, who still lament the old days of equalisation. .Russia, some believe, is in a worse state now than it was under communism . .these are difficult transitions for masses of people. Sadly the solution isn't simple . .I wish it was . .hey, email me and we can continue the debate. I just think that giving the games to China based on a 'display' was an irresponsible act by the OSC
Having said that, much if not most, of Australia's recent economic prosperity is due to our relationship with China.
Well, it is a nasty situation. I don't like dealing with it because I have a Chinese classmate. However i think the Chinese government has to survive the Olimpic Games and after it the attention will be much less.
they SAY hired, but you know....
Weeeell, I guess I don't want to oppress them. They have nukes after all. But the oil is gonna run out and weaning a country off is going to be a shit lot harder than putting alternatives in place to begin with.
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