Another crackdown in China This time on television shows
And people are calling out the CCP
For double standards
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
The Chinese Communist Party has a long list of things that need to go so they
can manufacture their so-called “moderately prosperous society”.
But how does Xi Jinping maintain his “moderately prosperous society in all respects”?
Obviously, by banning everything the Communist
Party sees as a potential threat—no matter how small.
It’s not enough to restrict cryptocurrency transactions,
and video game hours,
and effeminate boys in entertainment.
The Chinese Communist Party is not satisfied yet.
But what other minor thing could possibly be in the way of the Party’s perfect utopia?
None other than cartoons and children’s shows!
What’s wrong with children’s shows?
“In nearly all of the recent bans and crackdowns,
Chinese officials and state media have consistently decried the supposed capitalist
moral decay and Western values threatening young minds, and instead encouraged nationalism
and loyalty to the ruling Chinese Communist Party among Chinese youth.”
Oh ok. It’s capitalism and Western values that are the problem,
but loyalty to the Communist Party is the solution!
China’s National Radio and Television Administration
recently released a statement saying they strongly support the broadcasting of “excellent cartoons.”
Now, on the surface, this seems in line with what other countries do to keep television
from polluting the minds of young children.
The Chinese regulators say their effort is to “resolutely resist bad plots containing violence,
blood, vulgarity, pornography, etc…”, and to instead produce “excellent cartoons with
healthy content and promote truth, goodness and beauty in accordance with laws and regulations.”
And Chinese regulators know which cartoons are the excellent ones.
They’re the ones that promote patriotic thinking.
All the other ones have been censored for your convenience. This means standardizing program
content to “create a good online audio-visual space for the healthy growth of young people.”
I don’t get it. I grew up watching Captain Planet promote his extremist environmental agenda,
while his eco-terrorists attacked private businessmen who were bringing investment
into developing countries —and I turned out just fine! I learned: communists are evil.
Anyway, Chinese regulators say they’re concerned that kids will soak up bad messages like
impressionable young sponges. .
Hey, there’s nothing wrong being a hardworking fry cook. He owns his own two story house—which
is more than most Chinese people can say. .
Now, this new ban is an extension of an ongoing reform of broadcast shows in China.
Back in April, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee released a survey,
which singled out 21 animated shows with almost 1500 problematic points—involving
violent crimes, dangerous actions, and marketing issues.
Some of the cartoons listed included Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures,
Peppa Pig, and My Little Pony.
The most “problematic” cartoon on that list to receive complaints from parents
is a Chinese animation called ‘Boonie Bears’ “It is accused of having the main character
often hold an electric saw, leading many children to use a saw to hurt others, the report claimed.”
The show was about a bear with an electric saw?
Ok, that’s pretty violent. But Peppa Pig is arguably worse—what with her nose having been
sawed off and sewn onto the side of her face. .
Anway, months later, a new and stricter ban is being put in place by central authorities.
A very influential show has been taken off all of China’s video platforms. And fans are angry.
I’ll tell you more after the break.
Welcome back.
Chinese regulators have censored a lot of media content. But nothing outraged Chinese netizens
more than when they banned... Ultraman Tiga It was completely taken off all video streaming
platforms in China. Ultraman Tiga is a famous television show from Japan’s Ultraman franchise. .
The franchise has been around since the 1960's. It’s well-known in East Asia and all over the
world. So when the 25-year-old series Ultraman Tiga was pulled, there was a public outcry.
It wasn’t long until the hashtag for “Ultraman Tiga Taken Down” skyrocketed its way to the top
trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo, nearly tripling other search topics.
Netizens began using a famous phrase from the show,
“Do you still believe in the light?” to question China’s media censorship.
Part of the big shock comes from the fact that no one knew the ban was coming.
Just like with any other ban in China, the Chinese Communist Party can change things at their whim.
The staff of Chinese online video sharing platforms simply said the reason for the takedown
was ‘content adjustment and optimization’. Content adjustment and optimization. That… Sounds
like not the real reason they’re taking down a TV series that was first broadcast 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, “The Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee says that the removal
of ‘Ultraman Tiga’ on the entire network may be an autonomous behavior of the relevant platform,
which has no connection with the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee.”
So the video sharing platform blames the local government,
and the local government blames the platform. I’ve seen that one before.
The problem with this takedown is that it doesn’t just affect underage viewers.
It affects everyone who likes Ultraman.
And how many people under 18 grew up watching a show from 1996? Wait...1996 was 25 years ago?
But maybe Chinese officials don’t have time to deal with the specifics here.
They’re too busy figuring out what to ban next.
And maybe they weren’t quite expecting the outcry from fans of the show.
Which is weird because those fans are exactly the right age to be extremely online. This comment
says:“I don’t get it. Ultraman Tiga is a show many people have loved to watch since they were young.
Not only does it teach the belief in light, but it is also a cherished childhood memory.
Besides, it does not bring any negative effects to people.”
Another comment points out the hypocrisy with taking down Ultraman and not the
Chinese classics:“Ultraman’s Tiga Taken Down ‘Journey To The West’: Has superstitious
fighting monsters, Take it down. ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’: Currying
favors with problematic values, Take it down. ‘Water Margin’: Adversarial relations with
central powers, violence and death, bloodshed and beheading, Take it down.
‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’: Violence and death, Political struggles,
Internal Power Struggles, Take it down. Please block the classic titles shown above.”
Well, the Chinese regulators didn’t censor the four Chinese classics.
And a few days later, fans noticed that Ultraman Tiga was quietly put back online.
And video platform companies declined a reporter's interview,
saying that it is currently impossible to give any information on the matter.
And while people are celebrating the return of Ultraman Tiga, some
people argue it’s not the same. Because some episodes were revised or deleted.
So in the end, it seems people can enjoy having one show back on the shelves.
Or at least most of one show. Celebrate the small victories while they last, I guess.
You never know what’s going down next.
And now it’s time for me to answer a question from a fan who supports
China Uncensored on Patreon or Locals.
This question comes from...
Mr_Sarvy on Locals: “Criss,on america uncovered you bashed solar panels and gave a tone that
there is nothing that can be done to improve your negative points. What is your solution for emision
free/healthy for humans & enviroment electricity generation on a country size scale?”
Wow, that’s an important question, Mr Sarvy.
I’m a big fan of renewable energy. But this episode of my other show
talks about the “Dirty Secret Behind ‘Clean’ Solar Energy”.
The problem is not with clean energy. The problem is that nearly all solar panels are made in China!
If China burns dirty coal to manufacture solar panels, it’s a bit counterproductive, isn’t it?
There are also a bunch of other even crazier problems, which I talk about in that episode.
I think solar panels themselves are a great technology.
And they should be made right here in the USA again, without involving China in the
supply chain. Then they would be made by factory workers with higher wages, in safer conditions.
And over time, the prices would go down as technology improves—so
long as China doesn’t keep stealing our technology.
The same goes with wind power.
We should stop buying wind turbines made in China with stolen US technology.
What’s my solution for emission free electricity generation?
It starts with renewable energy like wind, solar, and other things—and
that manufacturing should be done right here in America.
Thanks for your question.
And thank you to everyone else who supports China Uncensored through the subscription
platform Locals, and the crowdfunding platform Patreon. The links to both of those are below.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell, thanks for watching China Uncensored.