China bans immoral songs online

A pair of headsets is on the keyboard in Zhengzhou city, capital of Central China’s Henan province, on Aug 1, 2015. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING- The Ministry of Culture on Monday released a blacklist of 120 songs that "trumpeted obscenity, violence, crime or harmed social morality", and ordered website administrators to remove them from their sites.

Including titles such as "Beijing Hooligans", "Don't Want to Go to School" and "Suicide Diary", the banned songs were described as "having severely problematic content", which violated an online cultural management regulation, according to a a ministry statement. Songs by household names such as Chang Csun Yuk and Stanley Huang were also on the list.

"No unit or individual is allowed to provide [these songs]," the statement read, promising severe punishment for those that failed to comply with the take-down notice.

The blacklist will serve as a reference for online administrators to ensure their content is legal, said Liu Qiang, a ministry official in charge of the cultural market, adding that the list will be regularly updated.