FIRST OFF . . .

How badly does the government of China want the Man in the Mirror, a.k.a. Michael Jackson? Talk surfaced over the weekend that the Chinese government and Jackson are interested in his performing there, but certain demands emanating from the Jackson camp are giving the Chinese officials pause: namely, facilities and hardware for a live international satellite broadcast of the concert and Jackson’s insistence that he be accompanied by a retinue of 300 people and pet chimp Bubbles. “A lot of people want to see Michael Jackson in China, but I think there will be a lot of things to be set up before he comes to China,” said Wei Xiaoyin of the Shanghai branch of the China Record Co.--which has already sold between 200,000 and 300,000 copies of Jackson’s latest album, “Bad.” Another China record company official said a vice president of Columbia Records, Jackson’s current label, agreed in principle that Jackson would perform in China sometime later this year. Since then, however, the Beijing-based Central China Television has gotten into the act, because Jackson wants to do a live telecast, and Central China TV is the only Chinese organization capable of such a transmission.