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Moral censors move on to karaoke bars
By Clifford Coonan
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Karaoke bars are being targeted by a government crackdown on vulgarity and dissent, as more and more karaoke parlours are fitted with a surveillance system that informs officials when illegal music ( political content) and pornographic videos are downloaded.
The southern city of Chongqing is the latest area to have the national karaoke content management system, or the "Black Box", installed in its karaoke bars. The device is designed to monitor the playlist remotely and automatically alerts police. Last month nearly 180 bars in the city were fitted with the system.
In some cases, a red light flashes at the local police headquarters when a forbidden song is chosen. The system has been discussed for years but installation only began recently.
Also targeted in the ongoing morality campaign are 81,000 internet cafes.
The government boasts of having blocked access to banned websites more than 87 million times in 2009.
By Clifford Coonan
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Karaoke bars are being targeted by a government crackdown on vulgarity and dissent, as more and more karaoke parlours are fitted with a surveillance system that informs officials when illegal music ( political content) and pornographic videos are downloaded.
The southern city of Chongqing is the latest area to have the national karaoke content management system, or the "Black Box", installed in its karaoke bars. The device is designed to monitor the playlist remotely and automatically alerts police. Last month nearly 180 bars in the city were fitted with the system.
In some cases, a red light flashes at the local police headquarters when a forbidden song is chosen. The system has been discussed for years but installation only began recently.
Also targeted in the ongoing morality campaign are 81,000 internet cafes.
The government boasts of having blocked access to banned websites more than 87 million times in 2009.
