Beijing Losing Touch with Communist Spirit
Beijing's mayor says the capitalist-style economic boom "is not healthy or in touch with the communist spirit.”
Advertisements and billboards "that exaggerate terms that encourage luxury and self-indulgence which are beyond the reach of low-income groups are not conducive to harmony in the capital.”
So…board by board, workers are pulling down many of the giant strips of ad space around the capital – particularly those peddling expensive apartments.
Officially it is called the "biggest-ever crackdown on unlicensed and unsafe billboards.”
Unofficially, it is thought that Beijing wants to present a certain image leading up to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
The image is – China is still a communist
country.
The Olympics? – the 2008 games are "the most commercial Games ever with more than 50 commercial partners – more than double any other Olympics.
A contradiction? Of course, it is.
But, let's think about it AFTER the Games.
Leave a comment!