Latest update: 18/04/2011 

- advertising - Beijing - China - illegal - luxury


An end to the show of luxury

The Chinese government has a new target in sight: luxury advertising. As of April 15th, no outdoor advertisements in Beijing will be allowed to portray either extravagant or opulent lifestyles, and companies breaking the law will have to pay a fine of €3,000. The government seems concerned that luxury advertising highlights the increasing gap between rich and poor.

By Henry MORTON / Joris ZYLBERMAN
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WHY?

There is no need for Luxury advertising to figure out the gap between rich and poor in China. One needs only to open his eyes.
I would like to understand the real reasons of those measures.
Maybe it's a way to protect the interest of national companies.

C'est la vérité.

This is true. The greatest contemporary internal danger to the Chinese government's hold on power and it's ability to maintain stability comes from the raising discontent that the increasing gap between the rich and the poor is bringing about. Particularly in the wider context of the polarity between the cities and the countryside. The greed of the elites, and their consequent shift to capitalism will inevetably cause major problems to their hold on power. It will be interesting to see how they handle it.

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