What you need to know
The Ministry of Culture in China issued a blacklist of 120 music products on August 10. The banned songs include many works created by Taiwanese singers, including Ayal Komod (張震嶽), Stanley Huang (黃立行), Jerry Lo (羅百吉), MC HotDog and others.
The Ministry of Culture in China issued a blacklist of 120 music products on August 10. The banned songs include many works created by Taiwanese singers, including Ayal Komod (張震嶽), Stanley Huang (黃立行), Jerry Lo (羅百吉), MC HotDog and others.
Music websites and karaoke must remove the songs within 15 days, and the songs are prohibited from commercial performance, implying the songs are fully blocked in China.
According to the Ministry of Culture, authorities have launched a centralized investigation on 120 music products with serious problems such as promoting sex, violence and crime or harm public morality. They say the works have violated the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture.
UDN reports, Liu Qiang, the deputy chief of the Department of Culture Market under the Ministry of Culture, says, “We will first announce the illegal products, after which companies must self-examine and remove the songs within 15 days. After 15 days, the ministry will organize law enforcement agencies to review the Internet and will severely punish those who refuse to remove the listed products according to the law.”
China News Service points out the songs on the blacklist will also be banned from karaoke, commercial performance, downloading, replications and dissemination. The songs also cannot be released as video products or electronic publications.
ETtoday reports, 23 of the 120 songs are from Taiwan, including the singers Ayal Komod (張震嶽), MC HotDog, Jerry Lo (羅百吉), Iron Bamboo (鐵竹堂), Won Fu (旺福), Machi (麻吉) and Stanley Huang (黃立行). Truecolor, the agency of MC HotDog and Ayal Komod, says, “We will respect the provisions when we perform at other places. After all, we are the guests.”
Liberty Times reports, Lin Chang-zuo, the vocal of ChthoniC (閃靈), says, “It’s common to see the Chinese government suppressing creation and freedom of publication. They can even kill people with no reason. Some Taiwanese singers submit to the dictatorship when they write songs or release albums so they can break into the Chinese market or avoid going against the Chinese government.”
Listed below are three songs on China’s blacklist:
A-Yue (as known as Ayal Komod), Go Nan Nu (狗男女)
MC HotDog & A-Yue, Wo Ai Tai Mei (我愛台妹)
Stanley Huang, Wo De Mong Zhong Qing Ren (我的夢中情人)
Translated by June
Edited by Olivia Yang
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