China has banned the internationally acclaimed women's rights play The Vagina Monologues in Beijing, a day before its scheduled opening, organizers told AFP.

"The play has been temporarily suspended. It hasn't been decided when it can be performed," said Shang Fang, a spokesman for the Today Art Gallery where the performance was scheduled for Friday evening and again Saturday to raise money for non-governmental groups fighting domestic violence.

Shang refused to give details, but said "We're still hopeful."

The cancellation comes a week after the production was banned in Shanghai, China's most modern and populous city.

The Shanghai play was expected to open on February 5 and would have been the first time The Vagina Monologues was performed to the general public in China.

An employee at the Shanghai Drama Center said it was called off because it did not fit with China's national situation".

The Beijing organizers, which include the Network for Combating Domestic Violence of the China Law Society, had hoped their play would be on at Friday evening as schuled because, unlike the Shanghai adaptation, it was non-profit, in English, and was to be held at a less high-profile setting.

Hundreds of tickets sold at both events are being refunded.

An official at the Beijing cultural bureau confirmed the cancellation, blaming it on a technicality.

"They didn't go through the procedures of applying for permission. Without applying, it's considered an illegal performance," said the official surnamed Wang, who declined to go into details.

"Even if they apply now, there wouldn't be enough time."

Written by Eve Ensler, the play, based on several hundred interviews with women around the world, celebrates women's sexuality and focuses on the abuses women suffer.

The ban comes with domestic violence becoming a much more talked about issue in the Chinese media and television dramas and with Chinese attitudes about sex becoming more open, especially among young people.

Teenage sex, premarital and extramarital sex are on the rise.

Government officials, however, remain wary and conservative, observers said.

"The content of the play is actually very serious and the subject is very meaningful, but I think it's the method of telling the story that some higher ups have problems with," said Li Shengying, producer of the Shanghai play.

He and others said decision makers probably found the fact the word "vagina" is uttered more than 100 times and that the stories are told through vaginas to be offensive.

"It's a very touching play. Many of our workers who watched our actresses rehearsing were very touched. Many of them were moved to tears," he said.

"We wanted to bring this play to a Chinese audience, but perhaps we were over optimistic. Perhaps the step we took was too big. We have to take small steps in China."

The play has been performed in over 39 countries since 1996, including Iraq.

(China Daily February 13, 2003)