The General Office of the Ministry of Education ("MOE") has recently issued the Urgent Circular on Strictly Preventing the Entry of Commercials and Business Activities in Primary and Middle Schools and Kindergartens (the "Circular").
The Circular outlines arrangements in four aspects, including "conducting a comprehensive survey right now", "strictly controlling the examination and approval of in-school activities" and "practically strengthening the routine campus supervision". The Circular calls for efforts, among others, in launching a comprehensive inspection of activities aimed at making business advertisements in middle and primary schools and in kindergartens, and practices of making advertisements directly or in a disguised manner by making use of textbooks, teaching materials and reference books, exercise books, stationery, teaching aids, school uniforms and school buses for primary and middle school students and young children, and paying particular attention to finding if any trademark, commercial or business activity involves the red scarf or its name, and if any in-school activity is mixed up with the content for commercial intent, and other issues. Moreover, the Circular stresses that the administrative department of education in any region shall develop its own system for the record-filing and the examination and approval of various "in-school" activities, to strictly check the content of an activity, the detailed plan to conduct an activity, the unit holding an activity and participants in an activity, etc.