Selfie-stick Ban in Chinese Politics

Chinese communist party has banned selfie sticks for its annual political meetings starting on March 5. Beijing has urged the party members and the journalists to fully focus on their duties. The communist party newspaper People’s Daily reported that delegates’ image is harmed when they are seen taking photographs and being distracted from work. Last year saw a real hysteria of selfies in the most famous halls of the People’s Republic.

It was proclaimed that even though the ban may appear unreasonable and awkward, they were part of the efforts to improve the quality of the sessions during the meetings of the consultative conference and the National People’s Congress. The congress is a gathering of China’s ruling elite and has them discussing major policy issues for the upcoming year.

The congress is the first government event to ban the selfie sticks, but numerous attractions all over the world have done the same. Last year, one of the most famous museums in Beijing, ‘’Forbidden City’’, banned them to avoid damage to the artifacts as well as other visitors. Similarly, London National Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and National Gallery of Art in Washington have banned their use.