TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2004
China demands 'breast behaviour'
AFP
BEIJING: China is looking forward to a visit from US pop princess Britney Spears as long as she only shows off her vocal talents and does not engage in Janet Jacksonstyle nipple-baring, state media said on Tuesday.
Spears is scheduled to give five concerts in China next year, including in Beijing and Shanghai, but the country's cultural officials have demanded that they get to check her clothes first, the China News Service reported.
"Every aspect of her tour will have to undergo examination and approval," the agency said. "That especially goes for the clothes she'll be wearing. The requirement is that they don't show too much."
Jackson caused a national furore in the US with the unscheduled flashing of her breast during the February 1 Super Bowl -- the country's most popular television event.
Pop star Justin Timberlake ripped off part of her bodice during a musical intermission in the sporting extravaganza, exposing her ornament-studded nipple. News of Spears' tour plans may have emerged at an awkward time, as China is in the middle of a campaign to raise the ethical standards of its youth, with officials targeting the mass media's supposedly corrupting influence.
"Given the current situation, especially the recent emphasis on protecting our youth, the culture ministry is very cautious when it comes to inviting female stars from abroad," a culture ministry official told the agency. Spears has sold more than 54 million albums worldwide since releasing her debut CD, Baby One More Time, in 1999.
For years, she was linked with her staunch declaration that she would remain a virgin until she got married.
Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.