Road to 5**：Mainland places strict regulations on online variety shows
【明報專訊】◆News summary
On 21 February 2020, the China Netcasting Services Association (CNSA) stated that in accordance with the plans of the National Radio and Television Administration, it has worked with CCTV.com, Mango TV, Tencent Video, and other audiovisual program websites to formulate the “Detailed Criteria for Examining Online Variety Shows”.
◆Source A
The “Detailed Criteria” include 94 specific rules for implementation, which target talent shows, stand-up comedies, reality television, children's programs, evening programs, and other online variety shows. The regulations set out standards regarding various aspects of television programs from the selection of main creative staff and the behavior of on-screen personnel to styling and stage design, language, program production and packaging etc.
The CNSA claims that the formulation of the rules will enhance the quality of online variety shows and prevent individual variety shows from becoming excessively entertainment-oriented, vulgar or kitschy.
■Mock examination question
“China's strict internet supervision is not advantageous to improving its comprehensive national power.” Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer with reference to the news summary and your own knowledge.
•Comprehensive national power includes hard power and soft power. Hard power includes quantifiable, tangible strength in the economy, military, technology, resources, etc. Soft power is intangible and often difficult to quantify, yet it is a spiritual force that can affect other countries.
Agree:
•Hinders information flow
China's over-supervision of the internet, such as the blocking of information deemed sensitive by the authorities, may hinder the flow of information and cause difficulty in resolving social problems in a timely manner. For example, the outbreak of large-scale infectious diseases may not be addressed during the initial stages. This could greatly affect China's welfare and economy, or weaken China's hard power.
•Weakens freedom of speech
On the mainland, some people have had their WeChat accounts closed or even held in administrative detention for spreading content deemed to be “rumour.” From this we can see that China's internet supervision deprives the people of their freedom of speech, which could easily lead to self-censorship and a chilling effect, affecting China's international image and weakening its soft power.
Disagree:
•Protects national security
The mainland has implemented the Cybersecurity Law since June 2017. By keeping a tight grip on the internet, the mainland government can curb the spread of illegal information, increases people's trust of the government and protects the autonomy of the country's cyberspace as well as its national security, which is beneficial in increasing comprehensive national power.
•Enhances quality of online programs
Internet supervision is beneficial to enhancing the quality of online variety shows, allowing high-quality programs to be exported to other countries, thus increasing China's cultural soft power.
Translated by Odyssey Lang
[通通識 第676期]
