Lawmakers Support Decision on Removing Billboards Far Off Eateries

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 04, 2002

Lawmakers Support Decision on Removing Billboards Far Off Eateries

Chinese lawmakers attending the annual NPC preparatory session Monday voiced their support for the decision by the Beijing Municipal Government to remove billboards of eateries outside their premises in an effort to make the 2008 Olympics host city less cluttered and more beautiful.

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Chinese lawmakers attending the annual NPC preparatory session Monday voiced their support for the decision by Beijing to remove billboards of eateries outside their premises.

They praised McDonald for taking the lead in implementing the decision by the Beijing Municipal Government.

NPC deputy Li Mingtao and chief architect of Beijing Architectural Design Institute, said the move would help tidy up Beijing streets. As a chief architect, he has been worrying that the beautiful cityscape of this ancient capital would be totally engulfed by a sea of advertising billboards.

The decision provides that each eatery is limited to have only one billboard on their shopfronts.

McDonald eatery is quick to respond. It has about more than 30 signatures outside their shops needing removal according to the decision. The signs of nightclubs and restaurants that do not conform to regulations have also been removed.

The move is not directed at McDonald's, said Beijing NPC deputies. All advertising boards that have been put up against the rules have to be removed.

It was learned that Beijing plans to remove about 200,000 billboards or free-standing signs in 2002 as part of the strategy to prepare the capital for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Beijing McDonald's Food Co. issued a statement, saying that McDonald's is a law abiding company and it fully understands the decision by the Beijing Municipal government, which, it says, is directed not at any particular company.

A senior manager of McDonald's admitted that the removal of the giant yellow "M" marks would affect the sources of customers, but he said that his company has to abide by the decisions of the government.

30 McDonald's Golden Arches to be Removed in Beijing's Cleaning Drive

The big "M", the eye-catching yellow sign outside many McDonald's restaurants in Beijing, will soon disappear, to comply with regulations for exterior signboard management recently implemented by the Beijing municipal government.

All signboards standing independently outside restaurants must be dismantled, and about 30 of the 83 McDonald's in Beijing have separate exterior signboards which are soon to be pulled down.

The massive task of dismantling the forest of outside signboards began this week, with the aim of making the 2008 Olympics host city less cluttered and more beautiful. (In Detail)

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