TV and China

Interesting juxtaposition of two items about TV and Chnia.  In the first, China announced that it will be launching a state-run TV network in the U. S.  The channel, to be called "TodayChina" will initially be available via digital broadcast in the New York City area.  The channel will reportedly offer news and entertainment programming in both English and Chinese.as a means of propagating Chinese culture internationally.

On the domestic front, the state is also cracking down on local broadcasting, in response to President Hu Jintao's crackdown on the spread of "foreign influence" on China's society.

“International forces are trying to Westernize and divide us by using ideology and culture,” Hu said in an October speech that was reprinted as a signed essay in Qiushi, a magazine backed by the ruling Communist Party, and published on the government’s website on Jan. 1.

 On January 3, 2012, state0run Xinhua News Service posted a news release detailing draconian changes in local broadcasting in China.  The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) reported that a new rule would force cancellation of two-thirds of local and satellite television stations' prime time entertainment programming.  Each outlet would be limited to broadcasting no more than 2 entertainment shows a week,  Entertainment programming would be limited to no more than 90 minutes in prime time, while stations would have to provide at least 2 hours of news, including at least 2 separate shows of 30 minutes or longer.  The agency's list of restricted programs includes dating shows, talent shows, talk shows, and "emotional shows of 'excessive entertainment' and 'low taste'."

It reminds me of a similar announcement when I visited Shanghai a few years ago, when reacting to supposed infiltration of Western ideas into local television, the head of SARFT announced a ban on "colored" hair and skimpy clothes by Chinese performers on TV.  Then, the emerging middle class fled to the Internet for their content - but China also seems poised to make another attempt to restrict access to outside content through the Net.  Will this close off rising unrest with a heavy-handed state apparatus, or be seen as a short-term overreaction to the idea of independent thought?

Sources -  China to Start U.S. Television Channel as State Media Takes Culture Abroad,  Bloomberg
An Alarming Development in China That Everyone Has Missed, Business Insider