China on Thursday banned men it considers not masculine enough on television and asked broadcasters to impose limits on celebrity content, AP reported.
The order from the National Radio and TV Administration is part of President Xi Jinping’s campaign for tighter control of business, education, culture and religion and to shape official views on morality.
Broadcasters must “resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal aesthetics,” the National Radio and TV Administration said, according to AP. The administration, in its notice, used a slang term for effeminate men – “niang pao”, which means “girlie guns”.
This came as the government felt that such a portrayal of gender might emasculate young men in China and “threaten development”, according to Vice.
The regulator also asked broadcasters to refrain from promoting “vulgar internet celebrities, and admiration of wealth and celebrity”. It instead promoted airing of programmes that “vigorously promote excellent Chinese traditional culture, revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture”.
Entertainment firms have been asked to not hire performers who violate public orders or those with a political stance different from the government’s, AP reported. Further, the TV broadcasters have been asked to limit performers’ pay and avoid terms in contracts that could help them evade taxes.
“Individuals with a wrong political stance, those who go against the country and the Communist Party of China (CPC), should not be employed by the industry,” read an English translation of the National Radio and TV Administration notice as reported by The Global Times. “The same goes for those who violate Chinese laws or social moralities.”
Last week, actress Zheng Shuang was made to pay a penalty with 299 million yuan ($46 million) on charges of tax evasion, AP reported. Another actress Zhao Wei’s name was removed from the credits of movies and TV programmes.
Other measures taken to curb the entertainment included suspension of fan clubs on microblogging platform Weibo Crop.
The government has also issued a slew of measures to limit the functions of internet industries.
This week, it issued data security and anti-monopoly orders to companies, including games and social media provider Tencent Holding and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, AP reported.
The game developers have been asked to create nationalistic titles and submit their other titles for review.
These regulations follow China’s new limits on access to online games, which it imposed on children in August, Reuters has reported. The National Press and Publication Administration had said that it needed to curb the growing internet addiction.
The new rules allow children to access games only between 8 pm and 9 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, apart from the public holidays.
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