Karaoke clean-up campaign in Beijing

BEIJING - The Government has ordered all karaoke bars and nightclubs to install monitoring equipment and "open up" private rooms in what it says is a crackdown on drugs, prostitution and public safety.

New regulations require entertainment venues to install "electronic eye" equipment and run security checks at their doors, state media said, and banned clubs from being set up in "potentially dangerous" basements.

The rules are officially aimed at preventing accidents - such as a Christmas Day bar fire that killed 26 people - and stopping clubs being used as front for organised crime.

But critics say they also represent a new way for the Chinese Government to keep an eye on its people and maintain stability.

"Entertainment halls must set up video-monitoring systems covering their entrances, exits and main corridors and ensure the cameras are kept running during operating hours and are not interrupted," the Beijing Youth Daily cited the rules as stating.

Nightclubs must keep tapes from their security cameras for 30 days in case local police or officials need them in investigations, the newspaper said.

The rules, published in the state-run People's Daily , add that entertainment sites' private rooms, staples of karaoke clubs and often rented by patrons by the hour, must have transparent two-way windows and no locks on their doors.

The karaoke clean-up campaign also has ties to Beijing's ongoing drive against official corruption, the Government has stated.

The new rules, which take effect from March, state that Government employees cannot operate or invest in widely popular and often lucrative nightclubs.

- REUTERS