Mapping China: Music - State Policy: Censorship

Censorship exists in every society. Perhaps more so than in other places, Chinese societies expect their governments (and other authoritative institutions such as universities) to guard moral standards, and see censorship as an accepted tool to this end, for instance in restricting pornography and the glorification of drugs.

Currently most censorship is self-censorship, executed by companies and individuals who have a benefit in nurturing a long-term relationship with the Chinese government and don’t want to rub it the wrong way.

Tradition

All East-Asian nations have long histories of censorship and government involvement in cultural production. Some of this goes back to paternalistic Confucian traditions, in which the emperor (now the leadership) is responsible for guiding the nation towards proper conducts and righteousness.

Music can be a barometer of public opinion, and Chinese state has tried to influence its readings. Confucius said: ‘the music of a peaceful and prosperous country is quiet and joyous, and the government is orderly. The music of a country in turmoil shows dissatisfaction and anger, and the government is chaotic.’

Cold War and Cultural Revolution (until 1970s)

• Both Taiwan under martial law (1949-1987) and the PRC during the Revolutionary Period (1949-1978) monitored the public domain for unwanted political expressions.
• Taiwan’s language politics favored Mandarin Chinese, and prohibited Taiwanese (or Hoklo) from being used in official institutions including radio and television. Additionally, when Mandarin popular music emerged in the late 1970s it was criticized for its individualism and hedonism, and lack of militaristic fervor. However, with Taiwan’s gradual democratization these other voices got more space, and today censorship does not play a large role in Taiwan anymore.
• For the PRC, Mao Zedong’s directions laid out in his Yan’an talks on literature and art in 1942 remain a major point of reference. It states clearly that art and culture should serve politics. Although the PRC opened up after 1978, these words are still influential.

PRC in the 1980s and 1990s

When the open door policy picked up speed in the 1980s, market-forces were slowly reintroduced in the production of culture. The state ceased to be the sole legal producer of culture.

• In 1982, propaganda departments within the CCP and the military were reduced and the PRC Ministry of Culture again became the central agency on cultural policies.
• Although not privatised, song-and-dance troupes as well as other core institutions of the CCP and PRC’s ‘propaganda machine’, such as publishers, newspapers, television stations and radio broadcasters have over the last thirty years been increasingly expected to become competitive and profitable.
• Since the 1980s, singers that are employed by the military as part of their propagandistic song-and-dance troupes find themselves competing with popular culture imported from liberal market economies such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. In response, state-sponsored singers such as Teng Ge’er, Han Hong and Song Zuying increasingly cultivate images of individualised pop stars, even though their allegiance to the state and the party is never in question.
• Slowly but irreversibly, the state has changed from a monopolistic producer to the more distant role of commissioner in and regulator of a cultural market.

PRC after 2000

Under Hu Jintao (2003-2013) the political keyword was harmony. In this pursuit of stability and growth, the trend was towards strict censorship of certain sensitive topics plus an increasingly liberal attitude towards everything else.

• The cultural and creative industries emerged which reduced the direct involvement of the state in cultural production (see below).
• Awe for the advancedness of international examples, including commissions for Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists.
• The few instances of censorship in mainstream music relate to songs that compare being in love to opium (Faye Wong in 2003, James Lin aka Yoga in 2012) or otherwise mention drugs in their lyrics.
• A-mei was briefly on a black list after sang she the national anthem of the Republic of China (i.e. Taiwan) in 2000 at the inauguration of president Cheng Shui-bian, who is a fervent supporter of Taiwanese independence. This black list is not publicly known.

Under Xi Jinping (since 2013) the political keywords are ‘China dream’ and ‘the socialist core values’. In tandem with a renewed stress on ideology, public morality campaigns have also stepped up, with the government stigmatizing commercialism, hedonism, and pornography, under the rubric of ‘vulgarity’.

• A tough anti-corruption campaign results in more reluctance to allocate government subsidies (but not more transparency).
• More stress on Chinese nationalism, communist ideology and indigenous cultural production. Talent shows promote the China dream.
• Stronger regulation of online content, which had been relatively liberal. The media watchdog, now SAPPRFT, gets a larger scope. In the fall of 2015 stricter rules for live streaming and webcasting were announced.
• In the spring of 2015 the Ministry of Culture for the first time publicly banned songs, namely 120 tracks, mostly rap songs with explicit content.

Does and Don’ts

Although rules are not explicit or official, music companies have a fairly good idea of what is objectionable to local governments. Conflicts that do arise tend to be monetary (number and price of security people, rents for state-owned parks, number of free tickets) or corporate (such as a well-connected competitor blocking a permit).

Obvious hot button issues. Don’t publicly associate with these if you ever want to perform in the PRC.

• Tibet, including the Dalai Lama. Bon Jovi’s Shanghai and Beijing concerts (organized by AEG) were cancelled at the last moment in September 2015 because the Ministry of Culture ‘had discovered that the band once included a picture of the Dalai Lama in a video backdrop during a concert in Taiwan in 2010.’ The Taiwan Bon Jovi fan club claimed responsibility, saying they had send the images to PRC authorities in the hope Bon Jovi would add concerts in Taiwan.
• Religious sects such as Falun Gong.
• Taiwan independence.

Risky, but usually solvable (with costs)

• Chinese musicians have been barred from performing due to public support of Ai Weiwei.
• A number of singers and musicians have been apprehended in their apartments over the years for using drugs, mostly marijuana. For pop singers, TV celebrities, film actors and others that rely on the (state-owned) media and permits, it is usually the end of their career if word gets out. Rock performers have fared better, as they can fall back on small-scale live performances, but still keep their lips tight.

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