Latest Crime in China? Lip Synching

Maybe they can punish themselves after pulling off that lip-synch stunt at the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

China will name and shame artists who lip-synch or engage in other "fake" acts at commercial concerts, with repeat offenders getting their performing licenses revoked, local media reported on Thursday, citing the Ministry of Culture.

China's Olympic organisers were lambasted by Internet users and in media reports after they admitted a nine-year-old girl lip-synched during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games, in place of the real singer who was rejected because of her appearance.

The Culture Ministry was seeking public opinion on a draft amendment to existing legislation on commercial performances that would ban lip-synching, the Beijing News said.

In China, amendments to legislation that reach the stage of seeking public opinion are generally already fixed, and are usually passed by China's rubber-stamp parliament with little or no change.

"Performers must not cheat audiences by lip-synching, and concert organizers must not arrange for performers to lip-synch," a draft amendment posted on the ministry's website (www.ccnt.gov.cn) said.

The names of performers caught lip-synching would be released to the public, and those caught twice in a year would have their performing licenses canceled, the paper said.

I reckon a third time offender might just disappear altogether.