China murder mystery games: Shanghai moves to regulate booming ‘script-killing’ industry with ban on violent, horrific and pornographic content
- In Shanghai alone, there are more than 1,000 venues where people play script-killing games, with an estimated 30,000 across the country
- State media and authorities have been highly critical of the industry, but have not provided evidence to support the criticism
The game of jubensha, meaning “script-killing” in English, has been popular among millennials, especially those born after 1995, for its entertaining value and as a social activity.
The number of script-killing studios across China has grown rapidly in the last few years, with more than 30,000 venues across the country, according to state media news agency Xinhua. In Shanghai alone, there are more than 1,000 venues, the municipal government said.
According to draft legislation released earlier this week for public comment, script-killing venues in the city in eastern China must censor scripts of any banned content and then submit the censored version to the authorities.
The proposed legislation includes a range of content that is to be prohibited including breaking the law, undermining national sovereignty and security, and religious policies. The scripts will also be forbidden from containing obscenity, pornography, gambling, violence, and drug-related or criminal scenes, or anything that undermines social moral standards and cultural traditions.
“Employees of script-killing venues should not use horrific, cruel, violent, or vulgar performances that damage consumers’ mental health, and should not use human defects or abnormal human bodies to attract customers,” read the draft legislation. “Also, they must not abuse animals in their gigs.”