政府颁布禁令 奢华广告牌将告别北京

RENEE MONTAGNE, host: The Chinese government is taking on a new ideological task. In China, certain words are politically sensitive - for example, Tiananmen Square or democracy. And these days that list is growing. Words like regal(帝王般的，过帝王般的豪华生活) and supreme have fallen foul of (冒犯，相冲突) political correctness(政治正确) and so will no longer be seen on Beijing billboards.

NPR's Louisa Lim says the new government regulations reflect a certain unease with citizens whose tastes are distinctly non-proletarian(非无产阶级的).

LOUISA LIM: I'm standing on a busy road beside a billboard for a new development whose name translates something like the impression of a royal castle, and the picture's really quite spectacular.

(Soundbite of car horn)

LIM: It's a woman in a flowing red satin dress(绸衣), standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe(凯旋门) in Paris.

(Soundbite of crowd chatter)

LIM: As of next week, this billboard will be forbidden in Beijing. New regulations say that ads will no longer be allowed to glorify(歌颂，赞美) feudal emperors, imperial nobility (皇室贵族) or anything vulgar.

David Wolf from Wolf Group Asia says it's part of a new campaign.

Mr. DAVID WOLF (Wolf Group Asia): The truth is that the party has started what is very clearly a campaign against ostentation in China. There is a pushback (推迟，后推) against things Western. And there is a desire to see those Western things take a lesser role in the development of Chinese culture.

LIM: It's a move aimed at protecting social harmony, the state media says, at a time when the wealth gap is widening. But the new rich still have money to burn, and China is second only to Japan as a consumer of luxury goods.

(Soundbite of traffic)

LIM: Driving that luxury splurge(挥霍，摆阔) are people like 20-something(二十几岁的人) Li He, who's waiting outside a mall with three friends, clutching a stiff(硬的) brown Gucci shopping bag. He spent $450 on a leather belt. When asked if banning certain words will change his shopping habits, Li He scoffs.

Mr. LI HE: (Foreign language spoken)

LIM: Those who should be rich are rich. Those who should be poor are poor, he says. Those who work hard get rich, while those who don't stay poor.

(Foreign language spoken) When I asked what he works hard at, he says he works hard at having fun. His leather belt, he admits, were bought with his parents' money.

Mr. TANG (Construction Worker): (Foreign language spoken)

LIM: That sticks in the craw of(使不能忍受) Mr. Tang, a construction worker who will only give his last name. It would cost him more than a month's wage to buy one Gucci belt. I feel uncomfortable seeing people waste money like that, he says. Nonetheless, it's not as if Mr. Tang and his fellow workers will be burning Burberry billboards anytime soon. In fact, he sees the new regulations as kind of silly.

Peking University sociologist Zheng Yefu also doubts they will make any difference.

Professor ZHENG YEFU (Sociologist, Peking University): (Through Translator) Our TV shows are full of shots of rich people's extremely luxurious lifestyles -their houses, their dinners, their clothes, everything. But nobody is interfering with that. So will banning certain words from billboards really have any benefits?

(Soundbite of TV show, "Fashion Kingdom")

(Soundbite of music)

Unidentified Man: (Foreign language spoken)

LIM: Chateau Lafitte wine and Hermes scarves are namedropped in this is soap opera, with the politically dubious name of "Fashion Kingdom." But despite the assault(抨击，攻击) on billboards, Beijing's not taking aim at luxury goods in general. On the contrary, China's considering cutting its high taxes on luxury goods so wealthy shoppers can stock up on(存储，置办，购买) their Louis Vuitton at home, rather than overseas.

Beijing may be using foreign luxury goods to send a political message, but it still wants to cash in on them.

Louisa Lim, NPR News, Beijing.

MONTAGNE: And this is NPR News.