Beijing expects to continue its ban on advertising at Tian'anmen Square and areas along Chang'an Avenue, including ads on vehicles like buses, the municipal government announced Monday.

What is now an informal ban could even become official. Legislation has been drafted and public opinion was solicited in September and October last year.

Beijing began to remove advertising in the area and has forbidden vehicles with ads from passing since 1999, when festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China were held in the capital city.

Tian'anmen Square, the biggest city square in the world, holds a special place in the Chinese people's hearts.

The Tian'anmen gate rostrum, where the late Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the PRC, and the Great Hall of the People, where the annual conferences of the country's top legislative body is held are located within the square.

Chang'an Avenue, the widest street in China, passes the square.

Twenty Beijing residents submitted their opinions of the regulations via the Internet late last year. Some believed that vehicles should be allowed to carry advertising, as it would contribute to the city's appearance.

Others agreed with the ban and some even suggested that the embargoed area should be expanded.

"After careful consideration, we finally chose to continue the current policy on advertising management in Tian'anmen and along Chang'an Avenue, which has proven to be effective in practice," said Zhou Jidong, director of the municipal government's Legal Affairs Office.

According to Zhou, any loosening of restrictions would negatively influence the area's image, while tightening them would have an impact on the development of the advertising industry.

Zhou made the remarks Monday during a press conference in Beijing. His office is responsible for drafting local regulations as well as legislative items, which are submitted to the local people's congress for discussion and approval.

Also on Monday it was announced that the city does not expect to ban begging and busking at subway stations and on trains.

An initial railway management draft forbade begging or busking at the entrances of urban railway stations, within the stations and on trains. It sparked hot debate.

Among the 50 residents who commented online about the matter, 16 supported the ban, 15 were opposed and the remainder believed it needed further consideration, said a source with the Legal Affairs Office.

Many people agree that citizens should be allowed to solicit others for money. Zhou's office finally deleted the item from draft legislation.

"This is because we think begging and performing in subways are not within the range of safety aspects for urban railways, the topic of the legislative item," Zhou explained.

He said since the country has no law that bans begging in urban railways, the Beijing municipal government will not adopt such a stance.

But sources said that there are already at least seven provinces and municipalities that banned begging in such areas.

Zhou also said that Beijing will remove more commercial facilities from subway stations, such as newspaper stalls, to ensure safety.

Also on Monday, Kong Fanrong, the director of the department in charge of drafting economic regulations at the Legal Affairs Office's said that Beijing will not increase water prices, as some local media had reported.

Earlier reports indicated that the capital city would increase water charges from 2.9 yuan (35 US cents) per ton to 5 yuan (60 US cents) by the end of the year.

(China Daily April 13, 2004)