Online censorship rules are clear, official says
Sex scenes and 'unhealthy thinking' to be cut
Mainland censors have a clear definition of what constitutes obscenity in videos that are banned from the nation's internet, an official with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has insisted.
'We think that pornographic contents basically are scenes that blatantly depict sex acts, the process of which are mingled with abnormal and unhealthy thinking on sex. This kind of stuff I think should not be broadcast,' said Huang Weiqun, an official with the administration's monitoring centre, in a recent interview with CCTV.
Although conceding that adults have their own assessment criteria on 'scenes showing sex acts or even [actors] exposing their sex organs', he said they could not be broadcast.
The crux of the issue, he pointed out, was that most web surfers were young people who might imitate what is shown on the screen because of their lack of independent and critical thinking.
According to estimates made by the China Internet Network Information Centre in July last year, the country's total online population reached 162 million by June. Mr Huang said 70 per cent of these were under 30 years old while 50 per cent were under 25.
While the government needed to step up law enforcement, the industry had to exercise self-discipline and the public's awareness of the issue needed to be raised in order to manage the fast-booming online industry, he added.
The official's comments came amid a few high-profile movie censorship cases on the mainland that have caught international attention as well as renewed calls from leading mainland directors for a film rating system to be put in place.
These cases include the authorities' decision to cut the steamy sex scenes from Taiwanese director Ang Lee's award-winning film Lust, Caution before it could be shown on the mainland, as well as banning public screenings of the movie Lost in Beijing even after 17 minutes of footage of rape and class conflict, which was cut from the original version, appeared on the internet.
The fact that scenes or subjects considered taboo on the mainland can often be found on the internet means the flow of information can not easily be curbed in an internet-dominated era.
This is despite repeated warnings by the authorities that they are cracking down on material considered to be in bad taste, an attempt which has raised concerns that it might be a pretext for curbs on freedom of expression and dissent.
Minister of Culture Yu Youjun started a three-day visit to Guangdong province last Thursday to inspect its cultural development. He said he hoped the province could act as a pioneer of the country's cultural development, Yangcheng Evening News reported.
To achieve this, Mr Yu - a former propaganda chief of Guangdong and later mayor of Shenzhen - said the province should take the lead in developing creative works that could reflect the core values of the country. He suggested developing the creative industry as well as deepening reform of the cultural system and preserving its heritage.
