Beijing 2008: Bars Forbidden to Serve Blacks & Mongolians

[Ioannis]

Asianews.it, July 18, 2008

For “reasons of safety”, bars are forbidden to serve “blacks” and Mongolians or place tables in the street. Street musicians are being banned, and so is buying medicines containing “stimulants” without a prescription. Prohibitions are on the rise for the Olympic capital, while the first leaks reveal a grandiose fireworks display for the inauguration.

Bar owners around the Workers’ Stadium in downtown Beijing say that public security officials are telling them not to let in “blacks” and Mongolians, and many of them have even had to sign a pledge. The official reason is the fight against drugs and prostitution, dominated in the past by Mongolians and persons of colour. Moreover, public places must close by 2 a.m., for security reasons, and the bar owners are being asked to remind their clients that they must always have an identification document with them. There is even doubt over whether the bars within a radius of two kilometres from the Olympic buildings will be able operate, or whether they will have to shut down for the entire period. In some areas, tables are not permitted outside, because “the presence of too many foreigners gathered outside could create problems”. There is also an attempt to shut down outdoor musical concerts, to prevent disorder.

Jazz musician David Mitchell says that it is increasingly difficult for his band to find places to play in Beijing “Everything is aimed at creating stability, but they don’t understand that is precisely the unfounded prejudice that foreigners have of Chinese society—that it is a highly controlled and not a very cultural place. It seems completely self-defeating”.

To guarantee a “clean” Olympics, a doctor’s prescription is now required for 1,993 commonly used medicines, or the package must show a warning that the product contains substances believed to be stimulating and not permitted for the athletes. One must go to a hospital to get a prescription, but many of the hospitals ask for as much as 100 yuan for each prescription, causing problems for the elderly and the poor most of all.

Meanwhile, as of July 20 a new regulation will go into effect prohibiting everyday circulation for millions of vehicles, but the three new underground lines are not yet working, and Zhou Zhengyu, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, is unable to say when they will be opened.

But the inauguration on August 8 will be very well prepared. The programme is “secret”, but it is hard to hide a fireworks display, and those who live near the Bird’s Nest stadium and have seen the trial runs say they are impressed. The director Zhang Yimou has been preparing the show for three years with artists from all over the world: there was a general rehearsal on July 10, with hundreds of police standing guard to guarantee secrecy.

CHINA Beijing 2008: bars forbidden to serve "blacks" and Mongolians, outdoor tables banned - Asia News

[Menydh]

Apparently the news on the banning of Blacks and Mongolians from public places in and around the Olympics facilities were first uncovered by the South China Morning Post, just yesterday:

Authorities order bars not to serve black people

South China Morning Post
July 18, 2008


In our series looking at preparations for the Games, Tom Miller reports on plans to crack down on "undesirables" in the bars of Beijing

Beijing authorities are secretly planning to ban black people and others it considers social undesirables from entering the city's bars during the Olympic Games, a move that would contradict the official slogan, "One World, One Dream".

Bar owners near the Workers' Stadium in central Beijing say they have been forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises.

"Uniformed Public Security Bureau officers came into the bar recently and told me not to serve black people or Mongolians," said the co-owner of a western-style bar, who asked not to be named.

The local authorities have been cracking down on blacks and Mongolians in an attempt to stamp out drug dealing and prostitution ahead of the Games, the proprietors said.

A few months ago, police launched a violent sting on black men drinking in the Sanlitun bar district, and a notorious nightclub largely populated by Mongolian prostitutes was also shut down.

Security officials are targeting Sanlitun, which Olympic organisers expect to be a key destination for foreign tourists looking for a party during the Games.

The pledges that Sanlitun bar owners had been instructed to sign agreed to stop a variety of activities in their establishments, including dancing and serving customers with black skin, they said.

They have been allowed to keep copies of all the pledges except those relating to blacks, implying that the authorities are wary of charges of racism.

"I am appalled," said a black British national who works in Beijing. "I understand that the government is trying to stop certain illegal activities, but I don't think blanket discrimination is going about it the right way.

"Chinese people are prejudiced, but I would have hoped that the government would set a better example as it debuts on the world stage."

[source]

The Chinese authorities have denied the allegations by bars owners, however the South China Morning Post reports more such allegations in the last hours:

Police deny bar owners' claims of restrictions on blacks in Sanlitun

South China Morning Post
July 19, 2008


Police in Beijing's popular Sanlitun bar district deny they are conducting a racist campaign ahead of the Olympics, as another bar owner revealed he had been ordered not to let in blacks.

"They made us sign and chop a document saying we would not allow black people in [during the Olympics]," the owner said. "But no one is willing to say so because we'll all get deported ... and have our business shut."

Asked yesterday whether they had told landlords not to let blacks in bars, an officer at the Sanlitun police station had a one-word answer: "No."

The bar owner said police had given landlords a list of dos and don'ts during the Olympics. "We simply can't let them in [during the Olympics], it's what I was told," he said.

"It's [the restrictions on blacks] definitely happening. It will all happen in 24 hours."

His revelation comes after the Post reported yesterday how another bar owner had been verbally warned by Public Security Bureau officers not to serve customers of Mongolian and African descent, while other bars had been ordered to sign chopped pledges to keep to curfews, not allow the illegal sale of drugs, and refuse certain customers.

"They [local police] call meetings, and everyone has to go, or else ... If you don't go, they'll come back and shut you down," he said. Further investigation found that not all bars in the newly revamped area known for its nightlife had been ordered to refuse black customers, suggesting police are targeting specific bars.

"Black guys can come in and drink as long as they have valid visas," another bar manager in Sanlitun said. "But we have been told to watch out for black guys acting suspiciously, such as constantly talking on their mobile phones. The aim is to crack down on drug dealing."

[source]

Danwei, an online media resource that brings translations from various Chinese media, has criticised the South China Morning Post report as lacking of evidence and of credibility.

[Stan]

Could be another example of the chinese authorities disregarding the core principles of the olympic games. Shame.

[Menydh]

Why shame? They are putting the country to work on offering a quality show. Why should they allow it to be tainted with drug dealing and prostitution?

The document in question uses the word 黑帮份子, which means "gangster", not black people. The first character in the word for gangster does mean black, but this entire article is based on a very bad translation.

The pledge actually asks them to not serve "gangsters and prostitutes" not "blacks and Mongolians."