China says no to 'harmful' lyrics
One hundred and twenty Chinese songs that contain lyrics promoting "obscenity, violence, crime or that harm social morality", are banned online, according to an order released by the Ministry of Culture on Aug 10.
The ministry asked websites that offer online music listening and downloading options, to remove such songs from their platforms. The statement added, "no unit or individual is allowed to provide these songs", and announced "severe punishment for those that fail to comply with the take-down notice".
The list includes songs from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, some of which were written and performed by well-known singer-songwriters, including Taiwan pop star Chang Chen-yue, who has recorded a song titled Fart, singing the line, "There are some people in the world who like farting while doing nothing."
