Beijing’s latest crackdown is a ban on songs that “trumpet obscenity, violence, crime or harm social morality”.
Advertisement
“No unit or individual is allowed to provide these songs”, the ministry’s statement read, promising severe punishment for those who failed to comply with the take- down notice, reported Xinhua.
Numerous banned songs on the list were by unknown local hip-hop singers and bands, but some were by relatively popular artists such as Taiwanese singer Chang Csun Yuk and actor Stanley Huang.
Chinese-language tracks like No Money No Friend, Beijing Hooligans, Don’t Want to Go to School, and Suicide Diary were banned because they were guilty of “having severely problematic content”, said the ministry statement, which was quoted by CRIEnglish.
Chang’s blacklisted songs include Fart, with the line “There are some people in the world who like farting while doing nothing”, and I Love Taiwanese Girls, in which he sings that he will take them to a gynaecology department if they get pregnant and urges them to take off their clothes.
“I’ve never heard of the songs before”. Another sarcastically thanked the authorities for highlighting some potential new music for him to listen to. However, some online users have praised the move. Such bad taste and vulgarity. One such program, 2011’s If You Are the One, attracted government scorn for featuring women looking to marry rich men and valuing material possessions like cars and jewelry.
Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are inaccessible in the country, as is YouTube. In June, 38 Japanese manga cartoons were blacklisted from appearing online. The ban intended to “protect the healthy development of youth”, according to Liu Qiang, an official at the Ministry of Culture.
Advertisement
The list provided “specific targets for Internet organisations’ self-censorship”, the ministry said, adding companies should “remove the products accurately, be aware of the bottom line and improve their service”.
