POP/ROCK - Feb. 4, 1991

Next Elvis Sighting in Manchuria?: Practically the only place on Earth where no one has claimed to have sighted Elvis Presley is China. It was also virtually the only place where the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s records had never been officially released. But that changed Jan. 22 when Elvis records appeared in shops in Beijing and Shanghai for the first time. Elvis is not entirely an unknown in China. The U.S. singer, known to his Chinese fans as “King of the Cats,” has won a cult following despite decades of ideological bans, record burnings and anti-Western purges. In the 1950s and ‘60s, when Elvis was at his peak, China was in the throes of anti-Western campaigns. During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, Elvis fans who managed to obtain his records saw them set ablaze by members of the Red Guard.