Anti-Japanese dramas to flood Chinese TV screens next month
Move comes as nation will mark 83rd anniversary of Mukden Incident, which led to invasion
Anti-Japanese dramas will flood Chinese TV screens from next month until the end of October as authorities have ordered major satellite broadcasters across the nation to feature shows of patriotic or anti-fascist themes.
China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has also required the most popular television stations to broadcast TV series that are “anti-fascist”, according to a report by Beijing News.
Hunan TV, Beijing TV and Zhejiang TV have adjusted their programming in accordance with the directive.Hunan TV will show an anti-Japanese war drama from September 3, and
Zhejiang TV will cut one third of its current drama offerings and play one about a communist special forces unit.
Beijing TV will broadcast an anti-Japanese war drama in mid-September.
China’s anti-Japan dramas have drawn much criticism in recent years for their outlandish plots and acting that portrayed communists as omnipotent heroes.
September 18 marks the 83rd anniversary of the Mukden Incident, which led to Japan’s conquest of the former Manchuria, now called Shenyang, and that was generally seen as a pretext of Japan’s invasion of China. October 1 is China’s National Day.
This year also marks the 120th anniversary of the first Sino-Japanese war, which started on August 1, 1894.
On July 7, President Xi Jinping attended an official ceremony commemorating the 77th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge incident, which marked the beginning of the second Sino-Japanese War.
Xi is the first Chinese president to attend such an event.