Naturism in China: So Predictable

China is going to open up a naturist resort, I read about a week ago. Excellent news and a major breakthrough for naturism in such a huge country. But it's also a Communist and a conservative country, so what happened afterward was no surprise.
The naturist resort never opened, because it received a letter from the authorities telling it not to be 'indecent.' When you receive a letter from the authorities in China, you do what you're told and nothing else.
Is this an enormous setback? No, because if there are already people ready to promote naturism now, there will be more so later, as more Chinese get acquainted with naturism, either through the Internet or by travel overseas.
Having said that, I must add that the resort planned for Lin'an County in the economically prosperous coastal province of Zhejiang was not a naturist holiday center the way we understand it overseas. Rather, it was naturism 'with Chinese characteristics.' Which means men and women were completely separated. There were two natural ponds, one for women, one for men, separated by 100 meters and a thick bamboo grove which would have made contact between the two sides impossible. In other words, more a hot springs resort Japanese style than a naturist resort European style.
You can read more about the Chinese naturist resort and its demise at http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_407189.html and at http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200907/20090727/article_408735.htm.
As to nudity in Taiwan, a positive development: after the police at the Kaohsiung World Games telling the Brazilian topless athletes on the beach to cover up, I'm glad to hear that the Taipei Deaflympics - the next big sporting event in this country, next September - is likely to take a more liberal attitude toward nudity. One of Taiwan's top models, Patina Lin Chia-chi, will be asked to perform completely nude but covered in body painting at the opening ceremony. I hope to report more on that when it happens.
The Taiwanese media this week also suddenly reported about Les Bleues, France's national women's football team, undressing completely for a series of pictures destined to attract more attention to the female side of the sport. Why the Taiwanese media reported about this now, I don't know, because an Internet search showed me this was news in France back in April. Anyway, I'm not complaining, because even at this late date, it tells the public that nudity is not wrong if it's tastefully done for a good cause.

Topless in Taiwan (2): The World Games

Here we go again. The same city - Kaohsiung - the same beach, the same phenomenon. Topless foreign women.
But now there's a new element to the game. The 8th edition of the World Games started in the southern Taiwanese city last Thursday, so whatever happens around it receives immediate attention.
The truth this time: three young Brazilian ladies, apparently members of that country's beach volleyball team at the games, enjoyed the beach and the sun so much, they took their tops off to sunbathe. TV footage only revealed one of them sitting upright, two lying face down.
But that was enough to get the whole media mob and the local police into high gear.
The police convinced the ladies to put on their tops, while the media reports had the required shocked locals exclaiming how topless sunbathing did not fit in with local culture, and how some local children might have seen it. For extra ammunition, they also found a Russian couple saying there were no topless sunbathers in Moscow. Probably right, since Moscow isn't exactly a prime beach destination. A young woman said the foreigners should respect local habits.
A man with the Brazilian team said it was the ladies' first day in Taiwan, and they were so happy at seeing the sun and the beach that they didn't realize things were different here.
Too bad they are, but then anyone wearing a bikini in Taiwan is still labeled a 'hot chick' in the media, and topless is completely unheard of. Even by the many Taiwanese who have traveled overseas apparently, since there is not a vibrant beach-going habit, so overseas the Taiwanese will mainly stick to shopping malls and historic monuments.
Too bad. I would've hoped that for once, the police and the other curious citizens would have looked the other way, and considered the topless bathing what it was - a symbol of internationalization during the event during which, according to local propagandists, 'the whole world will be watching Taiwan.'