Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/article/1504883/chinas-censorship-goes-overdrive-ban-us-tv-dramas
Comment/ Opinion

China's censorship goes into overdrive with ban on US TV dramas

Chang Ping says Chinese censors' ban on four American TV shows with no apparent offensive content reflects their true appetite for control - even harmless entertainment is not spared

Cut down to size

Many Chinese fans of American television are feeling aggrieved. They cannot understand why their government is robbing them of even the small pleasures in life. Earlier this month, four US shows - The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, NCIS and The Practice - were removed from Chinese internet streaming sites on the censors' order. No reason was given.

Since the 1980s, television shows from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the West have won a huge following on the mainland, with Chinese from all walks of life devoting substantial leisure time to such entertainment.