From The Los Angeles Times, via smh.com.au:
With their control over newspapers, television, magazines and the internet secure, censors in China are now turning their attention to the nation’s karaoke parlours.
The Ministry of Culture has issued new rules to prevent “unhealthy” songs from ringing forth in the sing-along bars, and to safeguard intellectual property rights.
The Government has picked three cities, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Qingdao, to test the program, under which member businesses will choose songs from a central database. If successful, the program may go nationwide.
“All the songs in the database for use by karaoke parlours and consumers need to be censored” to ensure content meets government standards, Liang Gang, from the Ministry of Culture, told state media. [Full Text]
Read also: commentary by blogger Wang Ran, CEO of China eCapital Corporation (in Chinese); and a critique article on Chinese newspaper Economic Observer (in Chinese), via xiaoshumaoshe blog.
