The cities of Beijing and Chongqing, China have recently issued a rule banning outdoor advertising that tends to promote high-end lifestyles and may trigger social unrest.

Acting on an earlier statement of Premier Wen Jiabao to resolve evolving social conflicts, the provincial governments of Beijing and Chongqing have issued separate rulings that would clarify the advertisements allowed or face stiff penalties.

Premier Wen said that this year the state will work on "resolving unfair income distribution" and this would be a major objective under a 2011-2015 state economic plan.

The Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce said in a recent statement that businesses were given until April 15 deadline to rectify such ads, along with any that excessively promote "foreign" things.

Although it did not gave specific details on which "foreign" things were deemed objectionable, it further explained that such advertisements create a politically "unhealthy" climate.

In a related report of state-run China Daily, violators could face fines of up to 30,000 yuan ($4,600).

Forbidden Words

Advertisers in these two key cities in China must be careful to use the following forbidden words: "supreme", "royal", "luxury" or "high class", "best", "unique" or "irreplaceable".

Chinese authorities want to pacify growing unrest among Chinese residents because high consumer prices have put more pressure on workers' and farmers' incomes