Anti-Japan plays must not play with facts

A TV drama set during China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) has been pulled off the air, showing the country's top film, TV and radio watchdog has finally taken action against controversial Japan-related films and TV plays that distort historical facts and challenge common sense.

The TV drama, Fighting Together Against the Devils (devils usually refer to Japanese invaders in Chinese films and TV plays), was telecast by a TV station in Sichuan province in early May. A controversy erupted after a few-minutes-long video clip from the drama was uploaded on the Internet a few days ago. The clip shows a female character, hiding a grenade in her pants while visiting her husband in a jail guarded by Japanese soldiers. This and the subsequent conversation, people say, are full of sexual innuendo.

After the State Administration of Press and Publication, Radio, Film and Television said it would investigate the matter and deal with the drama's producers according to the law, the Sichuan TV station suspended its telecast.