if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
Ain’t Superstitious
China is telling performers to behave or else.
Foreign entertainers who have taken part in activities that China deems a threat to its sovereignty will not be allowed to perform here, according to new 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, Macao and Taiwan will be scrutinized. “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 barring performers who promote ethnic hatred or “advocate obscenity or feudalism and superstition.”
....The rules on performers may have come about after an outburst in March by Bjork, the popular Icelandic singer. She used a concert in Shanghai to advocate 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.
I think the Chinese actually have a point here. The Olympics aren’t supposed to be a platform for people with agendas or protests, although it’s happened in the past. We often tell musicians to shut up and sing; China really means it. It might make some performers more appreciative of the fact that they can shoot their mouths off here.
Comments
The IOC probably figured since all the cheap crap needed for cherished olympic memories was gonna be made in China anyways, might as well have them there.
But what can China do to non-Chinese performers who mouth off? Kick them out of the country with—maybe—a slap on the wrist.
That’s about it. If some fucking peacenik douchebags come over here and protest they will be efficiently and quietly dispatched to their nearest detention station, where they will be hastily deported back to their country of origin. I would be surprised if they were even permitted to go back to their hotels to get their belongings.
Besides, as much as I agree with free speech, the Olympics is not supposed to be a political event. It’s sports. So yes, com here, but shut the fuck up about your pet cause. It’s two weeks, let’s declare them a free zone. After those two weeks we can al go back to hating each other again, but shut your fucking pieholes for two weeks.
It’s sports. So yes, com here, but shut the fuck up about your pet cause.
Exactly. The whole point of the original Olympics was that the city-states of Greece would put politics aside to celebrate human athletic acheivement. That some people would conveniently miss that point says volumes about the level of self-serving narcissism they possess.
the Olympics is not supposed to be a political event.
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And to think, the choice was between Beijing and Toronto. Well done there, IOC.