China’s children ordered to watch Saturday night television … and then made to sit through 12 minutes of advertising
Parents outraged after pupils were told to watch government-made education show, which was prefaced with a long commercial break
Schools across China ordered their pupils to sit down in front of the television at 8pm on Saturday night, only for them to be subjected to a lengthy series of commercials.
Notices were sent to pupils and their parents instructing them to watch a government-made programme called The First Lesson before school classes resumed on Monday.
But the programme on China Central Television, the state broadcaster, began with 12 minutes of advertising – prompting an outcry from parents.
“Please take your children to watch it on time,” one primary school in Beijing told parents. “A photo showing the student watching the programme must be submitted to the online chat group.”
Thousands of parents used social media and news websites to complain about CCTV’s non-stop commercials after schools had notified them that the public-interest educational programme made by the Ministry of Education would be broadcast at 8pm sharp.
“It has no credibility … The First Lesson has taught students that they do not need to keep time,” a parent from Jiangsu province in eastern China commented on the news portal NetEase.