Licensed street performers give cities character

CHENGDU, capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, recently issued an announcement for openly “auditioning” street performers. Those who pass the tests will receive permits to perform. Gmw.cn comments:

How to regulate street artists? That has long been a question for local governments. On the one hand, a modern city should accept the presence of these street performers and allow them to make a living. On the other hand, residents feel their normal life order is disturbed if there are too many street artists and they are not managed in an orderly day.

The move of the local government in Chengdu strikes a balance between their interests. By recruiting the street artists and issuing permits to them based on their auditions, the local government has both protected the legal rights of the street artists and maintained the normal order of the city.

Some have claimed that the local government’s move is because it can charge for the permits. But the facts speak best for themselves. The permits are free, at least for now. In other words, by issuing the permits, the local government in Chengdu can better regulate the city order without adding any financial burden on any of the parties involved.

More important, their move recognized street performers as part of the city’s character. Street performers might not be as sophisticated as their professional counterparts, but they are the closest, as well as the most familiar, artists to ordinary residents. By protecting their rights, the local government in Chengdu has made a good move to enhance the city’s cultural quality.

A look at international municipalities, from Paris to New York, will show they all have their own street performers.

The measure in Chengdu is not the first in China. Shanghai has been pioneering the practice for years, and it has already issued 120 permits. We hope more cities will follow the example of Shanghai and Chengdu.