BEIJING - China will extend its ban on foreign
cartoons during prime time by an hour, its latest
initiative to "spur the domestic
cartoon industry", said a circular by the country's TV watchdog.
According to the circular issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), no foreign
cartoons or programs introducing foreign
cartoons can be shown from 5 pm to 9 pm, the "golden hours", on all domestic
cartoon channels and children channels starting May 1.
The original ban, imposed by the SARFT in August 2006, required foreign
cartoons to appear on TV only before 5 pm or after 8 pm.
Cartoons co-produced by domestic and foreign producers will have to get
approval from the SARFT to air between 5 pm and 9 pm from May 1.
Only domestic
cartoons approved by SARFT can be aired during the "golden hours", it said.
The ban will "enhance the SARFT's management over
cartoon programs and will create a favorable
environment for the domestic
cartoon industry," the circular said.
China's
cartoon industry produced more than 101,900 minutes of animation in 2007, a 23 percent jump over 2006 when the output was 81,000 minutes, according to the circular.
The first foreign
cartoon introduced to China was Japan's "Astro Boy" series in 1981. Since then, a large quantity of foreign
cartoons have flooded into China.
In 2000, a SARFT
regulation required local TV stations to get
approval from the administration and set quotas for imported
cartoons to air on TV. By that time, China's
cartoon programs had nearly been monopolized by Japanese
cartoons.
In 2004, the SARFT issued another
regulation, requesting at least 60 percent of
cartoon programs aired in a quarter to be domestic.
In September 2006, the SARFT
decided to ban all foreign
cartoons from 5 pm to 8 p.m.. The
regulation resulted in a sharp decrease of foreign
cartoons on local TV.
Aside from foreign
cartoons, China has issued a series of bans over "vulgar" and horror videos, audio products,
illegal sex-themed adverts and medical ads that over-exaggerated their effects.
It also requested in January last year the country's
satellite TV broadcasters only screen "ethically inspiring TV series" during prime time, reflecting the reality of China in a
positive way.
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