China Cracks Down On "Effeminate" Artists, Enforces "Moral Discipline"

Chinese government agencies publish fresh guidelines to further censor the entertainment industry for "severely polluting" China's youth and society.

China ordered broadcasters on Thursday to shun artists with "incorrect political positions" and "effeminate" styles, and said a patriotic atmosphere needed to be cultivated, widening a crackdown on its booming entertainment industry. After years of runaway growth in the world's second largest economy, regulators have been to trying to strengthen control over Chinese society by tightening oversight over a broad swathe of industries ranging from technology to education and culture. Communist Party authorities can censor anything they believe violates core socialist values and already have stringent rules on content ranging from video games to movies and music. The latest moves reining in the entertainment industry come in the wake of a series of celebrity scandals involving tax evasion and sexual assault. Two government ministries, a party agency and an industry association published fresh guidelines on Thursday, with the Party's publicity department blasting some in the entertainment industry for their alleged bad influence on the young and for "severely polluting the social atmosphere".