China’s watchdog tightens screws on media with raft of bans

in Beijing China's broadcasting watchdog is taking aim at western lifestyles, any signs of a lack of positive energy and improper values in the latest raft of censorship rules for social and entertainment reporting.

President Xi Jinping has overseen a moral crusade which includes a campaign to tighten the screws on the media, which he says exists to serve the Communist Party and the people. The crusade has seen actress Fan Bingbing's cleavage banned from historical dramas as part of stern rules which also prohibit depictions of extramarital affairs, flirtation, time travel, most ghost stories, "sexual perversion" and incest from featuring in entertainment.

In the latest missive from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the authority said media’s role was to guide the public, so social and entertainment news must be dominated by mainstream ideologies and “positive energy”. Poking fun at Chinese lifestyles must be “firmly prevented”.

The ban seems to outlaw just about everything produced by US companies such as HBO, although morally suspect shows such as Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead are widely available to download illegally.

Improper jokes

Social and entertainment news “should refrain from contents that make improper jokes about traditions, defile classics, or express overt admiration for western lifestyles,” the watchdog said.

“They should also avoid putting stars, billionaires or internet celebrities on pedestals, or sensationalising private affairs, relationships or family disputes,” the statement said.

The ban has also been widened to stop exaggerated tales of getting rich quick, to clamp down on ostentation and vulgarity, and any shows that highlight selfishness, the state news agency Xinhua reported. In recent years there have been high-profile arrests of celebrities for taking drugs and other nefarious activities, with action star Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee arrested for possession of for marijuana in a massage parlour alongside Taiwanese movie star Ko Kai. There are already rules in place limiting “foreign-inspired” television shows and placing tougher penalties on the spread of rumours via social media.

News organisations must put in place performance review sections to monitor the ideological orientation of the news gathering operation to “strengthen restrictions, promote the good and eliminate the bad”.

Outlets violating the code will be punished with suspension, or having their production licences revoked, the authority said.

Meanwhile, the standing committee of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, is debating a Bill to regulate the film industry to ensure it “strives for excellence in professional skills and moral integrity”.