(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-18 22:33

More than 3,000 advertisements judged to be sexually suggestive or plain false had been revised or removed from television and radio broadcast across China by the end of last year, the broadcasting watchdog said on Friday.

"Radio and TV stations across the country have examined their broadcasting lists and the months of effort to crack down illegal ads have taken effect," the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said.

The administration issued circulars respectively in July and September in 2007, banning radio and TV commercials and programs involving drugs, sex-related health supplements, drugs for sexually transmitted diseases, sex toys, as well as "vulgar" ads for breast enhancement and female underwear.

To ensure the effectiveness of the "no sex" campaign, the SARFT has dispatched five inspection teams to ten provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities including Jilin, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Chongqing, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hubei.

The administration also conducted spot checks on TV and radio stations in four provinces including Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Sichuan. More than 30 illegal commercials were banned and producers were punished during the check.

In addition, more than 1,300 TV stations in over 400 prefectural level cities and radio stations in some 100 prefectural level cities were put under monitoring to spot banned ads, according to the SARFT.