Chinese President Xi Jinping recently announced that he’s pushing for a “national rejuvenation” across the country, and it seems that his plans are already rolling into action. In an effort to reform the entertainment industry, the country’s broadcast regulator shared an eight-point plan that targets anything “overly entertaining.”
The National Radio and Television Administration’s plan, which was published in the South China Morning Post, specifically mentions banning “sissy idols,” “effeminate men,” and offensive social media influencers, Complex reports.
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Reality talent shows like Produce 101 China, Youth With You, and Idol Producer, which have been known to go viral globally, are also being boycotted. The country’s regulator is also frowning upon stars who flaunt their wealth on social media, and has prohibited extremely high payments, urging celebrities to participate in charity events instead.
The aforementioned “sissy idols” refers to world-famous boy bands like Exo-M, Uniq, TFBoys, and Super Junior-M, who have branded themselves as more feminine, and are often spotted wearing make-up.
According to Complex, China sees this behaviour as something that “reinforces non-masculine interests for men,” which apparently, is unacceptable.
Just last month, the country announced that it would be regulating the amount of time children could spend online gaming, capping the total at three hours per day.
China has also been known to completely erase problematic stars from its internet in the blink of an eye. Such was the case with actor Zhang Shuang and actress Zhao Wei.
What are your thoughts on the country’s strict new rules? Could you live in a world without anything overly entertaining?
[Via]