China bans objectionable TV, movie content

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- China's media watchdog has demanded television content providers remove scenes depicting nudity, adultery or "too much physical content."

Also on the list of banned activities from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television are murders, suicides, kidnappings, drug abuse, extramarital affairs, prostitution, rape, gambling, "supernatural occurrences" and headlines referring to nudity of sex, China's Sohu news website said.

U.S.-made films and South Korean soap operas are popular in China, as are video streaming services, and the government action has citizens worried there will be little left to watch, the British newspaper the Daily Mail commented Thursday.

The demand is part of the Chinese government's attempt to regulate the flow of information in a campaign called "Cleaning the Web 2014." The State Internet Information Office reported over 100 websites in China have been shut down.

In October, Chinese media outlets, including television stations, theaters and online sites were ordered not to present programming featuring entertainers involved in prostitution, drugs or other crimes of vice. Authorities cited a need to protect socialist values.