Ban looms on songs with illegal content

China will establish a list of songs that will be banned for their "illegal content" at karaoke venues across the nation starting from October 1, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

This follows attempts in music censorship by mainland authorities, which had taken down many Cantopop songs it deemed undesirable in the past and censored Hong Kong singers such as activist-celebrities Denise Ho Wan-see and Anthony Wong Yiu-ming.

Illegal content includes those that endanger national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity, violate state religious policies by propagating cults or superstitions, or encourage illegal activities such as gambling and drugs, the ministry said.

Content providers at karaoke venues will be responsible for auditing the songs, the ministry said, adding that the mainland has nearly 50,000 entertainment outlets with a basic music library of over 100,000 songs.

The ministry said the aim of regulating karaoke songs is to promote the core values of socialism and the high quality development of the music industry.

It also encouraged content providers to supply "healthy and uplifting" music to these venues.

China heavily regulates and scrubs content like violence, pornography or politically sensitive commentary from social media and websites and has in recent months punished livestreaming to video platforms for hosting content it deems "low taste."

Although Beijing has never issued an official list of banned songs, music censorship in the mainland is nothing new as many Cantopop songs had been taken off the shelf in the past.

Many songs were censored because they were deemed "politically sensitive."

They included Queen's Road East by Lo Ta-yu for portraying Hongkongers' anxiety over the 1997 handover. The theme song of the Hong Kong movie Chinese Ghost Story II was also censored as its lyrics were believed to be hinting at the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

The works of some local singers were also yanked off in the mainland due to the artists' political stance. Examples include Ho and Wong, who were vocal supporters of the 2014 Occupy Central movement.

In July, Galactic Repairman by Hong Kong rock band Dear Jane was taken off the air by the mainland music streaming service provider QQ Music after its lyrics - which included the words "chaos" and "confront" - sparked controversy.

Censored Hong Kong singers face other difficulties.

Ho was forced to host her September concert at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in Wan Chai - instead of the larger and more prestigious Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom - after her application for the venue had been continuously rebuffed.

Wong was issued a bind-over order on August 5 in exchange for not being prosecuted after he was suspected of alleged illegal conduct during the 2018 district council election for performing in a rally for a pro-democracy figure.

pakhei.leung@singtaonewscorp.com