Asia Pacific Censorship News

China's internet censors at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Administration of Radio and Television have said that qualifications will be required for posting online content that requires a higher professional level such as medicine or law.

Subjects who want to comment online about health or legal matters, for example, will need to have an appropriate qualification and will even be required to submit their qualifications to the streaming platform they use. The platform should then review the qualifications.

From the South China Morning Post:

The 18-point guideline, published by the National Radio and Television Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday, requires influencers to have relevant qualifications to discuss some topics, such as law, finance, medicine and education, although authorities did not specify the qualifications needed.

The release also contained other rules for live streamers. They are not allowed to post content that distorts or weakens the CCP, like using deep fake technology on state and party leaders. Influencers are also prohibited from showing an extravagant lifestyle, excessive food wastage, sexually provocative or suggestive content, and a lot of luxury goods.

Japan has passed a law criminalizing online insults. Breaking the law will result in up to one year in jail or a fine.

As reported by the Japan Times, the law was passed this week and its enforcement will begin this summer. It was passed as a knee jerk response to a public outcry after professional wrestler Hana Kimura committed suicide in 2020 after being insulted online.

Before this latest law update insults were still an offense with a punishment of a maximum of 30 days in jail and a ¥10,000 (approximately $75) fine.

The new online insults legislation carries a maximum of one year in jail or a ¥300,000 (approximately $2,870) fine.

The Kashmir Files is a 2022 India historical thriller by Vivek Agnihotri
Starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Darshan Kumaar

The Kashmir Files is a story, based on video interviews of the first generation victims of the Genocide of Kashmiri Pandit Community In 1990.

The Indian hit film The Kashmir Files has been banned in Singapore by the country's InfoComm Media Development Authority, on the grounds that it could supposedly disturb religious harmony.

The IMDA said that it had consulted with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Home Affairs, and that they together found the film to have exceeded the Film Classification Guidelines for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir saying:

These representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious society.

The film was also briefly banned by the UAE film censors but the decision was reversed and the film was released uncut.

The New Zealand film censor initially passed the film R16 but this was uprated to R18 in response to muslim 'concerns'.