China bans AV products with "elements" of horror

BEIJING: China has banned the sale of audio and video products with "elements" of mystery and horror, saying it was an initiative to protect the "psychological development" of the country's children and teenagers.

The horror, violence and cruelty depicted in the audio and video were unfit for children and extremely harmful for their psychological development, the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) said in a circular.

It also ordered all publications containing elements of mystery and horror to be pulled off from the market and the audio and video products to remove "any hint" of mystery and horror.

GAPP defined audio and video products with mystery and horror as those that involve alien looking characters and fictional story telling, both specifically plotted for the sole purpose of terror, the official Xinhua news agency said.

China launched its crackdown on "terrifying publications" in 2006 when it targeted a Japanese comic story "Death Note" involving a notebook that "can kill people" if their names are written on it and depicted scary ways of dying.

The move comes as the latest in the series of crackdowns after targeting vulgar content in video and audio products whose production and sale had been ordered to be stopped and those already in the market to be recalled.