Donald Clarke: A license to sing?
It’s being reported that the Ministry of Culture is going to promulgate rules requiring singers and other entertainers to have a license in order to practice their profession.
Apparently the idea is meeting with some well-deserved ridicule in China. Of course, this doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
So far, none of the commentary I’ve seen has focused on the connection with the Administrative Licensing Law. As I read it (quickly), licensing of singers (for example) is permitted, if at all, only under Para. 3 of Article 12, which allows licensing of services where it is a public service that involves a profession or trade directly relating to public interests and where it is necessary to ascertain the existence of a qualifications or qualities such as special reputation, special conditions, or special skills
(提供公众服务并且直接关系公共利益的职业、行业，需要确定具备特殊信誉、特殊条件或者特殊技能等资格、资质的事项). Of course, “necessary” can mean anything you want it to mean. Still, this seems a bit of a stretch.
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