The country’s top media regulator — the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) — now “specifically requires that programs should not feature actors with tattoos [or depict] hip hop culture, sub-culture (non-mainstream culture) and dispirited culture (decadent culture),
There were four “don'ts” that the media must now abide by, according to Gao Changli, the publicity department director at the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT).
”Absolutely do not use actors whose heart and morality are not aligned with the party and whose morality is not noble," he said.
“Absolutely do not use actors who are tasteless, vulgar and obscene.
Absolutely do not use actors whose ideological level is low and have no class.
Absolutely do not use actors with stains, scandals and problematic moral integrity.”
Hip hop artists Wang Hao aka PG One, and Zhou Yan aka GAI, both won the popular television show Rap of China, but both were sanctioned in recent weeks for bad behaviour or content at odds with Communist Party values.
PG One was forced to apologize earlier this month after one of his songs, ‘Christmas Eve’, was criticized for promoting drug culture and insulting women.
Rapper Mao Yanqi, aka VaVa, was cut from the variety show Happy Camp. Music by Triple H, an influential underground rapper, has been removed from major streaming sites. And a contestant on the show Super Brian, had his hip-hop style necklace blurred out.
Last July, Beijing’s Municipal Bureau of Culture said it was “not appropriate” for Justin Bieber to tour in China because previous performances there had created “public dissatisfaction.”
The decision has caused uproar in China, with music lovers voicing their objections online.