China Rethinks Banned Content

In a move widely anticipated as Beijing goes into a pre-Olympics media lockdown, the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) is launching a particularly restrictive clamp down on film, TV and radio content ahead of the 2008 Games that start in August.

In a recent Olympic inspired attempt to purify the film industry and create a more harmonious film environment for the public, the government regulator published a notice restating its policies on film content on March 7. Under the notice, films with the following content will be banned from the big screen in 2008:

• graphic sex scenes, rape, prostitution or nudity,
• sound effects, music and dialogue with sexual connotations,
• horror, suspense and mystery films featuring murder, violence, evil spirits, demons or other frightening topics,
• frightening music, sound effects and dialogue,
• content that distorts the civilization and history of China or other nations;
• scenes that tarnish the image of revolutionary leaders, heroes, important historical characters, members of the armed forces, police or judicial bodies;
• reconstructions of crimes or scenes that reveal police investigatory techniques;
• any scenes that advocates nihilism, environmental damage, animal abuse, or the capture or killing of rare animals.

As it reformulates its film policy, SARFT has become reluctant to approve any material with the potential to be politically or morally questionable. In the Olympic spirit of openness and friendship, the regulator has put in place an unofficial halt to all Sino-foreign co-productions and some approvals have even been recalled for re-examination by senior officials.

One example is the Weinstein Company's Shanghai, which was recently denied a shooting license after the producers spent millions of dollars building sets in China (CMM Passim).

More recently, SARFT banned ads featuring Lust, Caution actress Tang Wei from appearing on television. No reason was provided for the ban but sources say the film offended a high-up official with its steamy sex scenes and sympathetic portrayal of a Japanese collaborator in World War Two-era Shanghai.

The print industry regulator the General Administration of Print and Publications (GAPP) has joined the party, issuing a ban on sales of all “horror and mystery” audio-visual products in March. Meanwhile SARFT postponed the theatrical release of awarding-winning film In Love We Trust due to censorship issues (see interview with Wang Xiaoshuai below).

The Olympic crackdown also covers broadcast media, but even the list of forbidden subjects is overwhelmed by the vast volumes of official Olympic-related programming commissioned for broadcast over the next six months. This includes the release of the major patriotic films, TV dramas and documentary series that CMM has been tracking through the production process over the last year and a half (CMM Passim).

According to one producer who declined to be named, the regulatory environment created by the Olympics is similar to that experienced during the SARS crisis in 2003 when SARFT headquarters was hit with the virus and suspended all its normal activities. Just like at that time, the message from SARFT during this special year of cultural and sporting celebration is “Come back when it is finished”.