Beijing's mayor lashed out against outdoor advertisements that bandy about false claims of luxury and indulgence, saying they drive a wedge in maintaining harmony between different social strata.

Billboards promoting expensive villas, cars and other luxury goods to the newly-rich are now commonplace on the streets of the capital, said Mayor Wang Qishan at a seminar on the management of outdoor advertising.

"Many of these exaggerate and claim to offer a life of luxury far beyond the reach of low-income groups. Thus, this is adverse to harmony in Beijiing," he said during the gathering with the city's political advisors.

Terms like "supreme luxury", "utmost prestige", "extreme comfort" and "hedonism" are oft to be seen in real estate ads selling apartments worth over 10,000 yuan (US$1,282) per square meter, or townhouses and villas costing millions.

These billboards, now adorning every major street and commercial sectors, are an unpleasant reminder of the financial disparity between the rich and the poor.

Recent media reports put the annual income of Ma Weihua, president of China Merchants Bank, at 4.46 million yuan (US$572,000). This triggered a barrage of criticisms from poorer sectors of society, furious at seeing such unfair sums paid out to senior officials.

The per capita disposable income of Beijing's urban residents averaged 5,900 yuan (US$756) in the first quarter of this year, according to the municipal statistics bureau, still significantly higher than those in rural areas.

The Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPPCC has recommended that adverts be prohibited from over-advocating an extravagant lifestyle, since this may widen social fractures. With the Olympics looming, an improvement in the overall quality of ads would also boost Beijing's image.

Other criticisms leveled at the advertisements from CPPCC members ranged from them being too gaudy and not respecting Beijing's civilization whilst also being dangerous since previous billboard collapses have claimed several lives. 

(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2007)