There Are Many, Many Things the Chinese Communist Party Doesn’t Want Shown on TV · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Popular online TV drama “The Addiction” was taken down two weeks ago. Chinese Communist Party guidelines state that homosexuality ought not appear in TV series. Screen capture from YouTube
A set of guidelines that specify what ought not to be shown on television circulated on Chinese social media last week following the abrupt takedown of two popular series, “The Addiction” and “Girl Love“, from online film and television streaming portals.
The document, entitled “General Regulations on Television Content Production”, was distributed last December to the industry by two Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups, the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and the China Alliance of Radio, Film and Television last December. The idea behind them was to “enact the spirit of Xi Jinping's speech on the National Forum on Literature and Art”, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks at that symposium in late 2014 calling on artists to serve the people and conform to communist thinking.
But if producers were to follow the guidelines to the letter, TV would become very boring in China. The document bans “abnormal” sexual behavior, crime scenes, police investigation, violence, deviant acts, stories that deviate from historical facts and literary classics, among other things.
Until now, China's entertainment industry has been following the “Regulation on the Management of TV Drama Content“, which was passed in March 2010 and released to the public by China’s State Administration of Press and Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). That document lays out 11 principles on content but does not specify what ought not be shown on TV, leaving space for creativity.
However, the line between party and state in China is a hazy one. Li Jingsheng, chief of the television department within SARFT, recently stressed during a conference that the industry should follow the latest guidelines issued by the two party-affiliated groups and that SARFT will ensure online entertainment meets the same standards as broadcast TV. His comments explain why the two popular online dramas were taken down.
Apart from showing gay and lesbian relationships, the party document forbids a laundry list of content that would make for compelling TV and instead appears to leave room only for happy propaganda.
The immediate reaction among Chinese netizens was to wonder what can exactly be shown on TV according to the guidelines. Below is a translation of the section on what shouldn't appear in a TV series (the original Chinese version was circulated via screenshots):
1. Content that contradicts the Chinese path and social system, that is harmful to the country's image, unity and social stability, that:
2. Content that is harmful to national unity:
3. Content that goes against state religious policy:
4. Content that advocates feudal beliefs that go against the scientific spirit:
5. Content that exhibits excessive terror, violence or evil behavior that could induce criminal acts:
6. Content that exhibits obscenity, vulgarity or banality:
7. Content that insults or defames others:
8. Content that distorts and debases national cultural traditions:
9. Content that is harmful to social morale and has a negative impact on underage viewers:
10. Content that is forbidden by laws and regulations:
As one may imagine, the document has attracted all kinds of curses from Chinese netizens, who say it bans creativity and spells doom for the industry. To calm the outrage, one party mouthpiece clarified that the set of guidelines is meant for the industry's “self-regulation”.
Yet, as the takedown of the two popular online TV series indicated, the party guidelines empower authorities to arbitrarily and selectively censor and ban content that they find challenges their ideology.