CHINA: Chinese feminists were diving for cover yesterday after the government banned Valentine's Day performances of Eve Ensler's controversial play, The Vagina Monologues, in Beijing and Shanghai.
Beijing officials said a gala performance of the play scheduled for Saturday - a premiere for the Chinese capital - was cancelled because organisers failed to follow correct bureaucratic procedures.
"The organisers did not register their play with the proper authorities," said Mr Wang Mingzhi, a spokesman for Beijing's culture department.
Late last week Shanghai officials banned the play, which explores female sexuality and violence against women and repeats the word "vagina" over 100 times.
Officials in China's largest city said the text was "problematic" and "did not suit national conditions". Sources close to the Beijing production said the real reason for the ban was political.
The government has exercised strict censorship over the media and the arts since Mao Zedong's revolution in 1949. However, emboldened by the growing levels of individual freedom accompanying China's economic liberalisation, artists have been testing the boundaries of what is acceptable.
Organisers said they were surprised the play was banned as it did not contain any critical references to the government.