Beijing's "Black" Ban

[Sir Rols]

I posted this in another Beijing thread, but I think it's a juicy story that's getting lost amidst Jim856796's ridiculous Rio-rants. Seems to be from Zimbabwe, but it's quoting Huffington Post as a source:

China’s plan to ban blacks at Olympics

China planned to ban black people from privileged bar sections of the Olympic premises in 2008, reports show.

According to reports from Huffingtonpost.com, Beijing Boyce, and Hong Kong’s English newspaper The South China Morning Post reported a few weeks before the games that Chinese authorities issued a secret ban on blacks, Mongolians, and other ‘social undesirable’ from local Beijing bars during the Olympic games.

Beijing authorities secretly planned to ban black people and others it considered 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 said they were forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises.

Olympics2008_270x204Security officials were targeting Sanlitun, which Olympic organisers expected 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, according to reports.

However, the Beijing Boyce posted updates on the story stating:

* An owner said police met with Sanlitun bar reps and told them to monitor black patrons. He said the police told the reps that drug dealers are predominantly black in the area. He said the police did not ask bar owners to ban blacks.

* Several Sanlitun area bar owners said they had not been told by police to ban blacks or Mongolians.

* I also spoke to several people in the restaurant business and they told me they have not heard of police telling city eateries to ban people.

* Most interesting, two people working at one bar had different perspectives on the terminology used by the police. One said the police used “black” in reference to skin color; while the other said it was used in terms of bad elements (the Chinese character for “black” is part of a phrase used to describe criminals). ( Source: Huffington Post/ Beijing Boyce/ [Agencies) PIC - The Olympics stadium in Beijing]

ZimEye

[baron-pierreIV]

Sounds like a Jim Jones story.

[Sir Rols]

Sounds like a Jim Jones story.

What is it about GB posters with "Jim" or "James" in their members titles?????

[Gangwon]

Lol Jim Jones. His posts were always entertaining. I don't ever recall "James" though.

[Sir Rols]

I don't ever recall "James" though.

Maybe you were lucky!

James was just a young Nigerian kid, who wasn't nasty, but felt he had to convert all sinful gays on the forum to the true path of righteousness.

[Texas]

It should be "Blacks are banned from bars in Beijing, unless you are super famous like Will Smith or Denzel Washington."