The CCP issues regulations on a very popular form of entertainment. It is also forbidden to sing that Taiwanese girls are sexy.
by Zhou Wanglei


Netizens in China are poking fun at new regulations on karaoke (although their comments critical of the authorities are quickly cancelled). These are the “Regulations on the Management of Karaoke Music Content in Singing, Dance and Entertainment Places” by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As usual in China, a draft was posted to solicit comments, but genuinely critical comments are usually not considered.
Karaoke is a huge phenomenon in China. There are more than 50,000 venues offering karaoke, often opened 24/7. China boasts the record for the longest uninterrupted karaoke session (456 hours and more, i.e., 19 days). Even shopping malls have mini karaoke booths for those feeling the urge to perform.
Of course, such massive phenomenon could not escape regulation and censorship by the CCP. According to the draft regulations, it was the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party that ordered to crack down on inappropriate songs performed in karaoke venues.
Among the banned songs are those that “violate national religious policies,” which prohibit religious activities, symbols, or propaganda outside the places of worship of the five authorized religions, or “promote xie jiao” (i.e., the groups banned as “heterodox teachings”) or “superstition.”


Also banned are song “endangering national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity,” and past experience teaches that this provision will be interpreted broadly. Among the songs that have already been banned is the very popular “I Love Taiwanese girls” (我爱台妹) by Taiwanese rapper MCHotDog, which playfully claims that girls in Taiwan are sexier than those in the Mainland.
Instead, the regulation encourages karaoke places to offer “progressive” songs extolling the CCP and the “Core Socialist Values.”