Dancing with danger (2)

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By Hu Qingyun (Global Times) 10:36, November 13, 2013

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In August, a Chinese woman surnamed Wang was detained in New York because her guangchangwu dancing group made loud noises while dancing in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, after some angry neighboring residents called the police.

A local court dropped the case later because she was a first-time offender, but warned her not to breach the regulation again. Wang also promised they would lower the volume of music and move away from residential areas.

But in China, the problem persists.

In Chengdu, Sichuan Province, angry residents threw water bombs at dancers in their residential compound on April 12. Local community workers came to mediate the conflict but failed. The dances continued, and so did the water bombs.

Those dancers were lucky compared with some who got caught in a dispute in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in October. Annoyed residents dropped excrement out of their windows on to a group of dancers outside, the Wuhan Evening News reported.

However, both cases came to an impasse. The dancers claimed that the square was a public area so they had the right to use it, while the residents accused them of creating noise pollution.

Regulating noise pollution

China does have laws and regulations to combat noise pollution.

According to the noise standard in urban areas, which was issued in 2008, the maximum level of ambient noise is 60 decibels in the daytime and 50 decibels at night. Any noise beyond the limit can be reported to environmental watchdogs, who can order it to be halted.

Additionally, the law on prevention and control of pollution from environmental noise requires that those who make noises that disturb the daily lives of others can be fined or ordered to pay compensation if the noise persists.

In the Wuhan case, tests by local authorities found that the noise made by the dancers exceeded the limits specified in the regulations, according to a report by China Network Television aired on October 30, which said that despite this, the government organs with the power to act did not pay attention.

Wang Yi, an expert in law and urban management studies with Yangzhou University, told the Global Times that if the residents want to launch a lawsuit, they would need evidence provided by environmental watchdogs.

However, considering the large number of guangchangwu dancers across the nation, it was not practical to ask the authorities to come to the scene every time.

"When residents gathered enough evidence, would they try to sue those dancers individually?" asked Wang Yi, pointing out that laws and regulations won't be enough.

Solving the problem

Some Chinese cities have attempted to tackle the problem.

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, residential committee offices, consisting of local volunteers and government staff, began to monitor the volumes of noise emitted in certain areas where dancers gathered.

Meanwhile, groups of dancers in Liuyang, Hunan Province, signed contracts with law enforcement departments, regulating when and where they could dance, and stipulated fines for transgressions.

Wang also pointed out that the key difficulty in this issue is the fact that they are organized by individuals and lack proper management.

"The key is to set up a community organization and management. If these communities can gather these individuals together and organize them to dance in the same location within fixed time durations, such problems will be solved," Wang Yi said.

Yang Hongshan, an associate professor of the Public Policy School of Public Administration with the Renmin University of China, told CCTV that the key to solving the problem is to increase the number of affordable public indoor spaces to allow people to socialize and entertain, as well as dance.