Several acclaimed books, including a bestseller that attacks the hypocrisy of corrupt officials, have been banned under a crackdown launched this month.
The two-month campaign targets political works said to threaten the solidarity and ideology of the Communist Party.
'The systematic crackdown in September and October is aimed at stopping enemies within the country and antagonistic forces from outside the country from using legal and illegal publications to spread political rumours and harmful messages, disrupting China's stability,' the China News Service said yesterday.
Beijing sources said the widespread crackdown covered books, newspapers, magazines and videos.
Prominent on the banned list was the best-selling Villains Holding Sway, published by China Film Publishing House. The book is scathing of corrupt officials.
Dozens of publications from more than 10 companies across the country had been banned, said an official from the State Press and Publications Administration.
Shanghai Literary Publishing House's I Have a Mother Like This, a sarcastic work about a heartless mother who devotes herself only to the party to the detriment of her family, also fell foul of the crackdown. Author Li Nanyang is the daughter of Li Rui, a former personal secretary to Mao Zedong.
