Asia Pacific Censorship News

Chinese authorities have prosecuted an Internet policeman who took payments from companies in return for censoring unfavorable remarks about them on social media.

He's accused of censoring more than 2,500 posts in return for over $300K in payments. He also collaborated with another official to censor critical remarks about government officials.

It seems unlikely that Gu, the Internet policeman who was arrested, and Liu, his collaborator, were the only two censors-for-hire in the Chinese system.

3.50 is a 2013 Cambodia/Singapore crime thriller by Chhay Bora.
With Doung Cheanick, Leang Honglee and Eunice Olsen.

When a young Cambodian village girl is sold off into prostitution, a brash American documentary filmmaker ventures deep into the underbelly of Phnom Penh to pursue her story and rescue the girl, crossing paths with various other lives affected by the unspeakable terrain of the country's virginity trade.

The film has been banned in Cambodia. Not quite officially banned, it's just that the censors won't issue a certificate:

Filmmaker Chhay Bora, who directed the yet-to-be released 3.50 , said that the censorship board has never explained to him their grounds for evaluating movies.

It's like walking in the jungle with no road map to follow, said Bora, whose film on sex trafficking was supposed to be released last October but never received final approval. Although his script was approved, Bora said that the censorship board has failed to reach a verdict on the final version. No specific cuts have been ordered by the ministry, he said, but feedback he received suggested that censorship board members were concerned about the movie's heavy social commentary.

The Ministry of Culture film department said they didn't ban the film, but they didn't grant the licence yet, said Bora, adding that although the film's dialogue did not seem to cause controversy, the censorship board expressed concern over not less than 10 shots. Some of the criticism, Bora said, was over shots that the board claimed represented Cambodia in a bad light, such as a taxi driver throwing a cigarette out the window and a scene within the impoverished White Building community on Sothearos Boulevard.

Bora also said that other scenes were too political for the censors' comfort, such as a shot of a character walking down a dusty road with Prime Minister Hun Sen's office visible in the background.

Bora also said that the board insisted that all plot conflicts be resolved before the credits roll. In particular one of his characters, after escaping a brothel, is last seen joining a group of other former sex workers instead of trying to return home. Her ultimate fate is never revealed, but the possibility of her returning to sex work is not ruled out.

The censors said: why don't you find a solution for her, to find an NGO or new job? And I said that's not my job. The filmmaker has no possibility to solve the social problem.

Immigration New Zealand is refusing to allow members of a controversial rap group to enter the country.

California rap group Odd Future were due to play at the Rapture hip hop concert headlined by Eminem in Auckland on Saturday, however, they have now had their visas revoked.

In a statement Immigration New Zealand said Odd Future had been deemed to be a potential threat to public order for several reasons:

Including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence. In one instance, a police officer was hospitalised following a riot incited by Odd Future.

The group's leader Tyler the Creator is well-known for using homophobic slurs and graphic descriptions of violence against women in his lyrics.

The decision comes amid growing calls to axe the controversial rap group from a concert headlined by Eminem unless the act promises to censor their lyrics. The Human Rights Commission has today written to Auckland council saying the group should not be allowed to play on council-owned land unless they exclude explicit lyrics from their performance.

Thailand's 'Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order' (CMPO) might 'invite' editors from some media outlets to instruct them to not provoke unrest through their reports, CMPO secretary Paradorn Pattanatabut said yesterday.

His statement comes one day after the government invoked the emergency decree in Bangkok and its surrounding areas to deal with the ongoing anti-government protests led by former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban. The order, which went into effect yesterday, will remain in force for two months and allows for censorship of the press.

Paradorn, meanwhile, dismissed reports that the centre will use the authority it has been granted under the emergency decree to shut down media, saying this invitation has nothing to do with gagging the press ...BUT...

We should understand that news reports should not be the source of provocation and instigation that can lead to chaos and unrest.

When asked if he would invite the BlueSky Channel, which has been broadcasting the anti-government protests, Paradorn said he had already conveyed the message and that its editors would be 'invited' if there are any inappropriate news reports.

Into the River is a book by New Zealand author Ted Dawe. In September 2013 it was classified as unrestricted by the Classification Office after being submitted by the Department of Internal Affairs because of a complaint from a member of the public.

An application was made to the Film and Literature Board of Review for a review of the Classification Office's decision. The Board of Review classified the book as R14.

The novel is centred on Te Arepa Santos, a boy from a fictional village on the East Coast of the North Island in New Zealand/Aotearoa. He wins a scholarship to a boys' boarding school in Auckland, and the transition is difficult. He forges friendships, finds enemies, and discovers that his Maori identity is discounted and a disadvantage. He endures the bullying that comes from this, as well as that meted out to new boys, and sees what happens when that bullying goes too far. There are confusing encounters with sex and a growing understanding of intimacy, the use of drugs, peer pressure, deep racism, grief and death. Decision summary

The Film and Literature Board of Review noted in its decision that the book contains themes of bullying, underage casual and unsafe sex, drug taking and other matters that people may find offensive and upsetting. The Board considered that the book is likely to educate and inform young adults about the potentially negative consequences that can follow from involvement in casual sex, underage drinking, drug taking, crime, violence and bullying. The Board also considered that the book serves a useful social purpose in raising these issues for thought and debate and creating a context which may help young adults think more deeply about the immediate and long term consequences of choices they may be called upon to make.

However, there are scenes in the book that are powerful and disturbing, and in the opinion of the Board run a real risk of shocking and disturbing young readers. Whilst those aged 14 and above are likely to have a level of maturity that enables them to deal with this, those below the age of 14 may not.

The Film and Literature Board of Review classified the book as objectionable except if the publication is restricted to persons who have attained the age of 14 years. The Board also requires that any further publications of the book carry the same descriptive note as the present publication, reading parental advisory explicit content .

The Board of Review decision replaces the one by the Classification Office. It is illegal for anyone, including parents and guardians, to supply Into the River to anyone under the age of 14.

Family First national director Bob McCoskrie, who lodged the complaint about the book, said it was disappointing a restricted work was an award-winning children's book.

Lady GaGa' s music is no longer banned in China. The government lifted the ban nearly three years after it said that GaGa's songs were too vulgar and put them on a "poor taste" blacklist.

Now that GaGa's music is allowed in China, her new album ARTPOP has been approved for release in the country with no cuts.

Sarawak Report has heard that movie theatres have decided it is not worth even trying to show The Wolf of Wall Street at all in cinemas in Malaysia. One movie business insider, who has made enquiries, told Sarawak Report:

I spoke with some film industry contacts in Malaysia and I'm told 'Wolf of Wall Street' was originally on the schedule for a local release, but after exhibitors saw the film, they realised there was no way they could get away with screening it in the country, due to the drugs, nudity, profanity.

The Chinese government has temporarily lifted a ban on selling foreign video games consoles, paving the way for firms such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to enter a lucrative market.

China banned gaming consoles in 2000, citing a supposed adverse effect on the mental health of young people.

In a statement, the government said that it would allow foreign firms to make consoles within Shanghai's free trade zone and sell them in China after inspection by cultural departments.

Update: Rules

20th January 2013. See article from gamespot.com

China has begun drafting new rules for the sale of video game consoles and games in the country, following the nation's announcement last week that its 14-year ban had been lifted .

Cai Wu, head of China's Ministry of Culture, said that the rules are being written as quickly as possible, though no specific timeline for their publication was provided.

Things that are hostile to China, or not in conformity with the outlook of China's government, won't be allowed under the rules of the free-trade zone, Cai said. We want to open the window a crack to get some fresh air, but we still need a screen to block the flies and mosquitoes.