CHINA:The beauty parlours and karaoke joints which act as fronts for prostitution and gambling are being closed, non-propaganda movies are banned, and "vulgar" TV and programmes about plastic surgery are all off the air.
Beijing is being sanitised ahead of a key Communist Party meeting next month, as city authorities try to ensure that Beijing's moral infrastructure presents a true reflection of president Hu Jintao's vision of a harmonious society.
The beauty parlours acting as fronts for prostitution - often referred to as "whoredressers" - account for half of the city's brothels, a report in the Beijing News said. "One-third of the prostitutes detained by police in Beijing this year have come from these illegal beauty parlours," a police officer told the paper.
President Hu Jintao is expected to cement his power base at the 17th party congress, which starts in mid-October, and there is a general move to ensure everything is done in the spirit of core socialist values in the run-up to the meeting.
Property owners are told not to rent their homes to people who "stay out late" and have "irregular lifestyles". Billboards around the city have had their weird Chinglish signage removed - no more "Wonder of National Cream" to advertise apartment complexes - as a more sober socialist image is preferred.
On the airwaves, the rule is no sexually-explicit programmes, nothing featuring sex toys and contraceptives, and anything involving sex-change operations or real-life cosmetic surgery is off-limits.
The campaign against "vulgar" TV has already shut down one programme known for its contestants with wild hair and unhealthy songs, The First Heartthrob.
Chinese TV is incredibly chaste, and nudity or even the softest of porn are completely unthinkable on air. But reality-style TV shows have been pushing the envelope on bawdy behaviour and exhibitionism, to the authorities' irritation.
The programme has been on air since last year and attracted 100,000 contestants countrywide, garnering high ratings. However, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has taken the show off the air because of its "vulgar taste and low quality".
Growing affluence in China and increased competition between regional broadcasters mean there is greater demand for pop idol-style shows, often at the expense of the traditional, old-school patriotic performances by established artists favoured by the Communist government. More socialist values, less weirdness, please.
Among the sins it committed were failures by presenters and producers to take effective measures to deal with the "chaotic situations", such as contestants insulting judges, causing them to cry on-air, and a general lack of "social responsibility and professional skills".
SARFT recently banned programmes featuring nips and tucks on camera and sex-change operations, including Beautiful Makeover, a reality show in the southern province of Guangdong.
Most webizens favour banning vulgar television: asked if Chinese TV was becoming increasingly vulgar, an overwhelming 95 per cent answered yes. And it's hitting the big screen too.
SARFT has announced an "Outstanding Golden Domestic Film Exhibition Month", during which only "quality" films, ie propaganda movies, may be shown.
Several times a year, China puts a freeze on the release of foreign films in order to promote patriotic domestic fare, but this blackout is unusual as it will also have an impact on Chinese movies, such as Jiang Wen's The Sun Also Rises, which is opening early because of the blackout, and Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, which has been postponed.
The freeze runs from September 15th until October 30th, according to a circular issued to people in the movie business.
"Foreign films are doing so well. They are doing anything to encourage the domestic films. But this is different because it's about 'quality' movies ahead of the party congress, which means propaganda movies," said one Beijing-based Hollywood executive.