China's Ministry of Culture has issued a notice banning entertainment venues from setting up in or around residential buildings and schools.

 

Entertainment venues are also not allowed in museums, libraries, cultural edifices, basements more than one floor underground and crowded public places like train stations or airports, it said.

 

"Entertainment businesses should not be near schools, hospitals and government departments," the notice says.

 

The notice is subordinate to the Regulation on the Administration of Entertainment Venues, which took effect on March 1 and banned gambling, prostitution and other illegal activities on the premises.

 

It also states that distances between entertainment venues and dangerous chemical storehouses must respect the Regulation on the Safety Control of Dangerous Chemicals.

 

China's entertainment industry has grown into a huge money-spinner. Owners of entertainment venues, including karaoke clubs (KTV), snooker rooms, computer game parlors and bars often overlook legal and safety issues in their pursuit of profit.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2006)