China Outlaws Lip-synching after Olympics Row

In response to the furor over the Olympics lip-synching incident, China is set to ban the practice of pantomiming to songs. From Telegraph:

Now, the Ministry of Culture plans to name and shame performers caught lip-synching.

Those who are caught miming twice will have their performing licenses revoked, according to proposed new legislation.

Sun Qiuxia, an official with the Ministry of Culture, said: “People who perform for profit should not cheat audiences with fake singing or by pretending to play instruments.”

Lip-synching has long been common practise in China. Yesterday, one Chinese pop star claimed that less than 20 per cent of singers actually sang when performing live.