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China bans crime shows and soap operas to make way for 'Red' TV
Television bosses across China have been ordered to clear their schedules and broadcast improving 'Red' television as the country gears up to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party this July.
China is getting ready to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party this July Photo: GETTY
By Peter Foster, Beijing 10:00AM BST 06 May 2011
Popular low-budget crime sagas, romantic soap operas and spy thrillers that entertain millions of Chinese every night have been ordered off the airwaves by central government TV regulators to be replaced by improving, patriotic content.
The decision, which has caused widespread disgruntlement, is the latest example of a concerted attempt by China's ruling Communist Party to use so-called "Red" propaganda to bolster what it calls "social unity" and old "revolutionary values" in modern Chinese society.
The news of the three-month ban on what authorities have labeled frivolous or vulgar television has provoked a wave of discussion on China's online bulletin boards and discussion forums.
The issue had generated more than 20,000 comments on 163.com, one of China's leading internet portals, with many contributors largely taking a weary "don't care" attitude and promising to find other diversions or download American programmes from the internet.
"So the red songs and red movies are promoted national-wide from now on," said one comment, "It doesn't really matter as I only watched American TV soaps anyway since I started to have access to the internet".
"Spy, detective and romance drama are all banned between May and July and there are only red drama available now?," wrote another on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, adding sarcastically, "Why not just announce May-July as 'TV maintenance period'?"
As complaints mounted, officials tried to stress that the popular dramas – spy thrillers are a particular favourite in China this season – had not been "banned", as many Chinese newspapers reported, but merely "delayed" until after the July 1 celebrations.
Wang Weiping, a senior official at the regulator, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said that dramas relevant to the Party and the army had only been "recommended" during this special "party founding celebration" period between May and July.
China's local satellite television stations, which fall under SARFT control, have already begun to adopt the recommendations, which include a list of 40 "excellent" programmes that have been deemed sufficiently patriotic.
The rules have potentially serious financial consequences for the TV stations, many of who have spend large amounts of money buying and promoting popular shows that they hoped would bring in the advertising revenues.
An employee at Tianjin Satellite TV in northern China told China News that the station was now discussing what to do about plans to air Green Blind, a spy drama, on May 17. "We now have three options, either to air the red theme TV series, like China 1945; or comedy, or classics, like Drawing Sword [a wartime drama].
"Spy series are very popular this year and there has been fierce competition to acquire the broadcast rights," the employee added, "only big TV stations can afford the cost, like Tianjin, Oriental and Zhejiang Satellite TVs. We spend at least several million RMB [several hundred thousand pounds] on one spy series."
An employee at Beijing's TV Movie Channel added his concerns. "Green Blind was our main promotional series. We held a press conference at the end of April for this series, and invited the actors/actresses, and spent quite a lot of money. We will hold a meeting to discuss what to do next."
Television chiefs, already under pressure from the government regulators to curb down ratings-chasing reality shows, will be hoping that the impact of the order to show only "Red" dramas will be short-lived.
At the beginning of this year Party bosses In the central Chinese megacity of Chongqing ordered the local Chongqing Satellite TV to show only Red output, in a bid to curry favour with leaders in Beijing.
However viewers voted with their feet, sending the station's ratings and advertising revenues plummeting, reportedly forcing staff to take a "patriotic" pay-cut to stay afloat.
