back to article Censorship FTW! China bans Paris Hilton, minor Kardashians et al

It might be time to reconsider the evils of China's censorship regime, after the Middle Kingdom slapped a ban on reality TV shows featuring celebrities' children. China's not super-keen on reality shows: this 2015 speech by official Tian Jin urges their producers to make people, not celebrities, the real heroes of such …

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  1. Mark 85
    Holmes

    But bear in mind that a similar ban in the West would likely have meant any number of Kardashians, Hiltons, Osbornes and Cyruses would never have made it to air.

    And this would be a problem.... how?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Sorry, no idea...

    2. mr. deadlift

      for the same same reason

      porn is illegal in the Middle Kingdom.

      One must take the good with the bad i guess.

      Censorship is bad, for lots of reasons.

      Grown-ups get to do grown up things including choosing to ignore faux-lebirites and watching adults have consensual adult relations with each other.

      See how i pushed that smut angle.. :snigger:

    3. VinceH

      "And this would be a problem.... how?"

      That, I think, was exactly Simon's point.

      1. Stuart Elliott
        Thumb Up

        Time to move to China it seems.

        n/t

  2. Oengus

    But bear in mind that a similar ban in the West would likely have meant

    We wouldn't have such nuggets of entertainment as

    Big Brother, Biggest Loser, Survivor

    Idol, The Voice

    Dancing with the stars ... </sarcasm>

    The world of television would be a much better place

    1. Tromos
      Joke

      The world of television would be a much better place

      More room for quality US imports such as 'Judge Judy'.

    2. Grease Monkey Silver badge

      Re: But bear in mind that a similar ban in the West would likely have meant

      @oengus it's a ban of sores featuring celebrity kids, which most of those shows d don't do anyway.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But bear in mind that a similar ban in the West would likely have meant

      "Big brother" in China is a show reserved to those in power...

      Yet actually banning those shows is actually a way to protect the oligarchy. Some Chineses could eventually nurture late XVIII century French thoughts looking at how a minority is a able to take control of and then dissipate the country resources...

  3. RedneckMother

    yah know...

    If it weren't for the (rightly expressed) derision on The Reg, I wouldn't have the slightest clue who most of those twits are... I don't click on "news" links about people who are (evidently) popular (self promoted?). I often see their names, but they only seem to be a part of some strange "fandom" and "popular media" interest, and only serve to distract people from reality. Is there anything worthwhile that they've done? What is the excitement all about? Two months ago, I finally discovered why I kept hearing (reading?) about "Kardashians". I thought it was some reference to an obscure SciFi series. Geez! Who gives a shit? Have any of them made a positive influence on society or humanity?

    Never thought I'd agree with an oppressive government's policy... (and, I still don't)

    </soapbox>

    1. Denarius
      Devil

      Re: yah know...

      With you there. For years I wondered why Deep Space Nine characters were so often referenced in some magazines, except the spelling was wrong. Now I know, I prefer the Cardassians. That tailor was admirably sceptical, cynical and sarcastic. Also remarkably honest.. Could alien races have Aspies too ?

      1. Teiwaz

        Re: yah know...Good telly...

        A 'The Cardassians' soap would be interesting.

        Or how about a period drama production of 'The Never ending Story', the popular Cardassian saga in the repetitive form.

        Last I checked out BBC iplayer, I struggled to find anything I wanted to watch, from my perspective, they might as well not have bothered with a flash free iplayer.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: yah know...

        I'd watch Cardassian Prime Time though the ratings on Bajor would be terrible.

      3. MJI Silver badge

        Re: yah know...

        Ah Elim Garak

        All coming back to me now.

      4. John Miles

        Re: yah know...

        Andrew Robinson, the actor who played the Elim Garak, wrote a biography of his character - A Stitch in Time

    2. MJI Silver badge

      Re: yah know...

      I know about the Cardassians

      Most well known is Gul Dukat

      Spooinheads!

    3. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: yah know...

      If this were to happen what would the Daily Fail (and Facebook's "trending") actually "report" on. After all, I cherish all the articles highlighting that some talentless twat who's happened to be on TV at some point was photographed wearing swimwear. On a beach.

      Now if the aforementioned twat was photgraphed wearing swimwear while going to the cinema then, yes, this actually has a tiny bit more interest to it (just for the stupidity). On the otherhand, please don't let the Daily Fail and Facebook know this otherwise there would instantly be many of these z-listers wearing swimwear to the cinema just so they can be photographed doing it.

    4. John Savard

      Re: yah know...

      Well, at one point Kim Kardashian did make public statements helping to heighten awareness of the Armenian Genocide.

      And I'm sure her father defended some clients other than O. J. Simpson, some of whom were actually innocent.

      1. Darryl

        Re: yah know...

        That may be true, but those two good things are deeply buried in all of the publicity whoring that she and her family do on a daily basis.

    5. To Mars in Man Bras!
      Megaphone

      Re: yah know...

      I am reliably informed by the missus, who reads the Daily Fail zzz-elebrity twat bar [she claims, in an ironic way] that the fat-arsed Kardashian thing shot to fame after a video was posted on YouTube, in which she featured, drinking her boyfriend's piss.

      So, it's a bit unfair to claim she's not contributed anything to global culture.

  4. Denarius
    Meh

    problem ?

    Noise reduction algorithm perhaps ? Odd, isn't it, when something like censorship seems to have an upside. Meanwhile I use the off switch on the few occasions anything other than a decent news service is on. Most of the other are from BBC, largely Mosley and Tony Robinson. So much for the creative aspect of the private sector.

  5. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
    Joke

    no not Paris!

    Where would this place be without her?

    As for that family (??) of media [redacted].... Nuke the lot of them. The world would be a better place (See Icon)

  6. tfewster
    Joke

    Censorship bad, m'kay?

    If we didn't have a free press, how would we know that Kim has the greatest ass [Kanye West] in the world ?

    On the other hand, I'd be happy if I never heard any more uninformed-opinions-treated-as-fact from celebutards like Woz

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Re: Censorship bad, m'kay?

      Does anyone know what a Kanye West is?

      I don't

      I just see the term and wonder what it is.

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Happy

        Re: Censorship bad, m'kay?

        Does anyone know what a Kanye West is?

        It's the only one we've got left, after that house fell on Kanye East...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Given half a chance

    I'd do exactley the same thing here in Blighty.

    1. sabroni Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Given half a chance

      Too right. Good censorship like this is awesome. It's the bad censorship, where they ban things that I like, that's the problem.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    STOP TEASING!!

    Based on the headline, I was already planning to buy a Karaoke bar on Sanya city beach; lucky I read the rest of it, and realised they werent banning the Kardashians from entering the country.

    Thats my coat, the one WITHOUT the green hat in the pocket.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Best advert for censorship I have ever heard

    Now if they can just add Piers Morgan and Donald 'Spunk' Trump (et) to the list I'll be straight to the airport

  10. chivo243 Silver badge

    Rethinking my stance on censorship

    Censorship? Perhaps. But bear in mind that a similar ban in the West would likely have meant any number of Kardashians, Hiltons, Osbornes and Cyruses would never have made it to air. ®

    They forgot that little twerp Bieber...

    yes, yes, closing the gate after the cows have gone. Just have to spot the cows before they try to leave the pen...

  11. BurnT'offering

    Pity

    I was hoping we could export them all to China

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "minor Kardashians"?

    Are there any other kind?

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Re: "minor Kardashians"?

      All of these

      http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Cardassians

  13. MJI Silver badge

    Who are all these people?

    Osbornes

    That is easy Ozzy and his manager, seen his band live in the 80s.

    Cardassians

    Antagonists in ST DSN, commonly called Spoon Heads, I think one of Spandau Ballet may have been one, well they did look like Dukat.

    AFAIK Hilton is a porn actress, apart from that no idea.

    So out of all of these I would recognise the ex Black Sabbath singer and the aliens.

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: Who are all these people?

      > So out of all of these I would recognise the ex Black Sabbath singer and the aliens.

      Which could be shortened to "the aliens". He is a Brummie after all..

      1. MJI Silver badge

        Re: Who are all these people?

        Ozzy was good then

        Got a few CDs and LPs of that era

        I just assumed he was permanently drunk

    2. x 7

      Re: Who are all these people?

      "AFAIK Hilton is a porn actress"

      no, not an actress. Actresses (and actors) have speaking parts. Whatever she does with her mouth in those films, she's certainly not speaking.

      To be truthful, what she did was so crap it hardly counted as porn. Far better things to be viewed by the thousand on Xhamster.com and elswhere

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Resistance is futile

    So the rulers of China ban shows that are all-fluff, for moralistic reasons. A worthy aim, but alas, they are doomed to failure. It's been tried elsewhere. Each time, the slow tide of TV banality has overwhelmed all resistance.

    The Chinese TV viewers must be much like TV viewers everywhere; shallow and bored. They will get what they want.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Re: Resistance is futile

      That is not the Cardassians

      That is the Borg

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Banning the fluff"

      Having had to put up with SWMBO watching Chinese soap operas, I think it is a bit late for the Chinese government to ban "fluff".

      Mind you, I also doubt it will be effective; a few years back they banned "Shows featuring Time Travel", yet loads of my nieces teenage friends were into Dr Who when I was out there last.

  15. PassiveSmoking

    Normally I'm appalled by censorship.

    In this case I think I might be prepared to make an exception. Well done, China!

  16. Version 1.0 Silver badge

    Till Death Us Do Part

    There's a lot of old British soap operas that fit that description - Alf Garnet, a man of the people, all we have to do is dub it into Cantonese.

    1. Teiwaz

      Re: Till Death Us Do Part

      I think this old British classic would do wonders in east Germany about now.

  17. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
    Unhappy

    It (as usual) is about protecting the elite...

    The "children" they are talking about are the spoilt offspring of party apparachiks that have got rich through corruption, being basically allowed to pocket the profits of state-run industry, or run lucrative business with tacit official blessing. The stories about these have been causing unrest amongst the multitudes of poorly-paid workers accross China.

  18. EL Vark

    One Ticket Please... Maybe

    You never expect to hear yourself saying, "man, I think I'll move to China", then something like this comes along. Sure, you have to cope with oppression, suppression, corruption, and censorship, but at least you know what you're getting going in. And I wouldn't have to continue to smile wanly at our own fiction that is "representative democracy". A nod's as good as a wink to any pigopolist.

    1. Jimbo 6

      Re: One Ticket Please... Maybe

      I'm with you on this !

      I think the possibility of me being garrotted-at-dawn on the flimsiest of pretexts, so that my internal organs can be harvested for the benefit of Party apparatchiks, is - frankly - a small price to pay for a guaranteed Kardashian-free life.

  19. John Savard

    Freedom

    A stopped clock is right twice a day!

    I wouldn't want to live in North Korea, even though instead of that awful rock and roll music, young people have inspiring songs to listen to like "Let's Study!" (also translated as "Let's Learn!").

    Of course a dictatorship will, among its other goals, want its people to labor constructively, and rest with uplifting pastimes - and so they will clamp down hard on drugs and all forms of dissipation. Latitude for such things is one of the prices we pay for freedom, but it's worth it.

  20. Eddy Ito

    Easy solution

    Cut the cord. Do remember to disconnect it from the mains before cutting it however.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds good.

    Anyway we can get that in the US?

  22. NanoMeter

    Socialist values?

    Yeah right. More like fascist values. That country is about as communist as USA, and oppressive as Saudi Arabia.

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