A few days ago in several online forums, an urgent phone notice issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television surfaced which addresses the censoring of coverage of Tang Wei, a Chinese actress starring in Ang Lee’s latest film Lust, Caution. This memo, translated by CDT, provides a closer look at the incident, which has gotten a lot of international coverage:
“All television programs, including news, features, entertainment, advertising and live broadcasts, must not cover Tang Wei or stir up issues related to her from now on.
As for the ad that Tang Wei did for Pond’s cosmetics of Unilever Company, all television stations must not broadcast it unless they have already signed an advertising contract with the company.
Those who have signed a contract should try to retract it.
These television stations should try to finish broadcasting the ad as soon as possible. They must not rebroadcast it, or extend the contract. No other advertisements that feature Tang Wei may be aired.
They must implement this phone notice immediately after they receive it, and report back to the Administration by March 10.
This notice must not be made public or be speculated on.
This notice should not be announced at public meetings, but be disseminated and implemented through individual phone calls, in case it is speculated on improperly.
March 6, 2008 15:20”
When asked by a reporter from Taiwan, Mr. Zhang Haitao (张海涛), a deputy director of SARFT, said during the CPPCC meeting: “This policy (banning Tang Wei) is directed toward an event rather than a person,” according to official media outlet Rednet.cn.
Here is an interview of Tang Wei in 2007, via the youtube:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N00UQ1GXbA8]
