Beijing, Oct 9 (IANS/EFE) Chinese censors banned television and other media from airing songs, movies and other artistic productions by performers involved in drug or prostitution-related cases, media reported on Thursday.
According to the official China Daily, the State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television gave notice that internet pages, radio stations and advertising agencies would also be affected by the ban, which comes as part of the government's ongoing crackdown on illicit drug use.
Recently, the campaign led to the arrest of numerous celebrities, including actor Jackie Chan's son.
"Celebrities who violate the law may not be invited to appear on programmes, and broadcast of their works is suspended," said the official order but it did not make it clear if the law applies only to Chinese performers or to those of other countries as well.
In August, Jaycee Chan, son of martial arts star Jackie Chan, was arrested along with another Taiwanese actor, Kai Ko, for consuming drugs in Chan's house in Beijing.
Their arrest was the highlight of the campaign against drug use by high-profile performing artistes undertaken by Chinese police.
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Among others, it resulted in the arrests of actor Huang Haibo, performer Zhang Mo and director Wang Quanan (awarded the Golden Bear in the Berlin Film Festival), who was accused of hiring prostitutes.
Drug use, almost completely eradicated in China during the (1949-76) rule of Chairman Mao Zedong, has returned in recent decades and become a menace that tracks the steep rise in China's economic development.
Designer drugs such as methamphetamine are especially popular in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where consumers include young political, business and artistic elites of the country.
--IANS/EFE
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