- allows player to make moral decisions, or
- depicts any form of human non-heterosexuality.
On the ban of giving players moral choices:
Games that allow players to make moral choices between good and evil should also not be approved, according to the memo.
“Some games have blurred moral boundaries,” it said.
“Players can choose to be either good or evil… but we don’t think that games should give players this choice… and this must be altered.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/china-ban-vid ... 00133.html
Note that the legal definition of "evil" remains unclear.
On the ban on queers in gaming:
the memo said that video games must not be viewed as “pure entertainment”, and should instead convey “a correct set of values”.
Games that feature queer relationships or “effeminate males”, the memo states, should not be approved for release in China.
“If regulators can’t tell the character’s gender immediately, the setting of the characters could be considered problematic and red flags will be raised,” it added.
China bans Ultraman Tiga, anime might be next.
In recent weeks, the country's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) has... demanded that networks and media outlets promote masculine images, along with traditional, revolutionary, "advanced socialist" culture or anything that reflects what the CCP decides is a patriotic image. The statement went into considerable detail, stating that TV shows must "resolutely resist bad plots" and only broadcast "excellent cartoons with healthy content and promote truth, goodness and beauty."
As such:
Ultraman Tiga was removed from streaming sites shortly after the NRTA's statement was released. It was reported by the CCP mouthpiece The Global Times that its removal was due to the show's violence: "The Ultraman Tiga involves violent plots such as armed beating, multi-person intimidation, arson and explosions.
https://www.cbr.com/why-china-ban-shang ... ama-k-pop/
They also banned Shang-Chi and the likes. Now, think of any Shounen anime. Yea I think they'll soon be getting banned alright, I'm expecting things to escalate in a short amount of time.
Just in: CHINA BANS ALL THINGS RELATED TO CRYPTOCURRENCIES, violators will face criminal penalties.
China's central bank has announced that all transactions of crypto-currencies are illegal, effectively banning digital tokens such as Bitcoin.
"Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities," the People's Bank of China said, warning it "seriously endangers the safety of people's assets".
...It is the latest in China's national crackdown on what it sees as a volatile, speculative investment at best - and a way to launder money at worst.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58678907
Tbh, not surprised. Especially with the rollout of the digital Yuan, which basically gives the CCP direct access to everyone's money supply in the country - where they are, how they are used, how they should've been used. I've heard claims that this will allow the CCP, for example, to unilaterally put a "time limit" on people's savings, with the threat of the erasure of said money if the time limit runs out, to force the people to spend their money during a recession as to try to boost the economy. But I haven't been able to verify this claim.
Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute and a former Bank of Japan policy board member, called the latest move an "extension" of measures to "ban all virtual currencies except central bank digital currency."
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Crypt ... yuan-nears
(Now onto gaming):
...Well, not totally.
- China totally bans online gaming for children under 18 Monday to Thursday (except if it's a public holiday).
- For Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, online gaming can only be played exactly from 8 pm to 9 pm (so 60 minutes per day, full stop).
- All online gaming software is required to use real-name registration and is installed with an anti-addiction surveillance algorithm controlled by the NPPA government body.
Apparently, the CCP considers gaming "an opium of the mind".
A state-owned newspaper wrote on Tuesday that gaming addiction in China was on the rise and labeled it “opium for the mind.” The article, which deleted the reference to opium later, fueled investor fears of potential regulation...
https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stori ... WjcnBszQxl
Further more, China has stopped all permits for new online games, thereby (for now) nuking the game development industry.
Chinese regulators have temporarily suspended approval for all new online games in the country, dealing a fresh blow to the video gaming businesses of industry giants Tencent Holdings and NetEase, as Beijing steps up measures to tackle gaming addiction among young people, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
https://amp.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/arti ... g-beijings
...I don't know. Being someone who majors in IT, many of my friends are deeply interested in game development and are thus horrified with the news. However, I'm not invested in game development, and as someone who primarily plays single-player offline games, I don't really relate to those who regularly play online games. But I mean, with this attitude, offline games are for sure to also be in the chopping block. I'm also curious about what societal impact will this result on the hundreds of millions of Chinese youth, already under insane academic pressures at a time of the rise of the "laying flat" movement (although then again, the CCP also banned private tutoring recently).
Obviously, Chinese game companies meanwhile are fucked. Especially Tencent (who has lost almost half a trillion dollars in valuation since Feb), the 40% owner of Epic Game (who created Fortnite) and various other gaming enterprises.
Thoughts? Is this an egregious breach of right (I mean, we're talking about inviting government access to your phone and laptop here. Then again, this is the PRC we're talking about.)? Or do you instead boomerly view gaming as a sort of societal degeneracy and would support implementing measures to curb down on gaming?
Edit: since I think it's funny (in a horrific way), I'll add that China also banned femboys.
Broadcasters must “resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics,” the National Radio and TV Administration said, using an insulting slang term for effeminate men — “niang pao,” or literally, “girlie guns.”
That reflects official concern that Chinese pop stars, influenced by the sleek, fashionable look of some South Korean and Japanese singers and actors, are failing to encourage China’s young men to be masculine enough.
https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-en ... 555a901b3f
Pursuant to the femboy ban, China has also started cracking down directly on K-POP and other idol fan clubs, directly stating that the problems lies in the very nature of such clubs. Both male and female pop stars.
Weibo, China's heavily censored version of Twitter, announced Sunday it has suspended 21 fan accounts dedicated to various K-pop artists due to "irrational star-chasing behavior."
The accounts, which have been suspended for 30 days, are dedicated to members of popular South Korean pop acts including BTS, Blackpink, EXO and IU. The temporary bans come after a fan account dedicated to BTS artist Jimin was suspended.
...Weibo said it "firmly opposes such irrational star-chasing behavior and will deal with it seriously," and promises to "promote rational star-chasing activities and regulate community order."
...Zhao Wei, one of China's most prominent actresses, saw her presence mostly scrubbed from the country's internet overnight. Her fan page on Weibo was shut down. Movies and television shows she starred in — some going as far back as two decades ago — were taken off streaming platforms, with her name also removed from the cast lists.
While individual Chinese celebrities have been targeted by the government before, the recent crackdown is wider in scope and harsher in severity, with their presence mostly wiped clean from the country's internet.
...Authorities have also taken aim at celebrity fan culture popular among China's youth. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently announced 10 measures to "clean up" what it called the "chaos" of celebrity fan clubs, including banning any attempt to rank celebrities based on popularity, and tightening regulations around talent agencies and fan club accounts. A day earlier, popular video platform iQiyi canceled all idol talent shows, calling them "unhealthy."
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/06/tech/chi ... rning_brew
Another late update: "y r u gae" - the Communist Party of China, 2021
Authorities also urged the companies to “resolutely resist unhealthy cultures” including worship of money and”boys’ love“—a popular literary genre in China that depicts the romantic relationships between males...
https://qz.com/2056875/chinas-crackdown ... e-serious/
