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China bans 120 pop songs that refer to 'Fart' and 'immoral' behavior

By Elizabeth Shim
China's Ministry of Culture issued the blacklist of 120 songs on Monday because many carried what authorities deemed offensive titles. UPI/Stephen Shaver
China's Ministry of Culture issued the blacklist of 120 songs on Monday because many carried what authorities deemed offensive titles. UPI/Stephen Shaver | License Photo

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Songs that refer to flatulence and Taiwanese girls have been banned in China because they promote "obscenity, violence, insubordination, or immorality," according to Beijing's Ministry of Culture.

The government agency issued the blacklist of 120 songs on Monday and many carried what authorities deemed offensive titles, CNN reported.

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Websites that did not meet the requirements of the new blacklist would be "punished severely according to the law," the government statement read.

Chinese social media users were quick to ridicule the ban or complain about the censorship of popular songs that follow a June ban of 38 Japanese manga cartoons, The Guardian reported.

The cartoons were banned from being published online and at the time 29 websites received warnings or were fined for showing material that "encourage juvenile delinquency, glorify violence and include sexual content."

"This is why Chinese hip-hop culture will never take off," one Chinese user on Weibo wrote.

Satirical humor was often used to respond to the new regulation that was inadvertently encouraging public curiosity about the songs.

"Thank you Ministry of Culture for your 'recommendations' I didn't know [about these before], hurrying to listen," one user stated on social media.

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The titles of the Chinese-language songs include "No Money No Friend," "Don't Want To Go To School," and "One Night Stand."

A Taiwanese song that included the line "I don't love Chinese women, I love Taiwanese girls" was included on the blacklist, as was a song titled "Fart" with the lyrics, "There are some people in the world who like farting while doing nothing."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a nationwide moral crusade in China that has targeted media and entertainment. A television soap opera in December was forced to take out images of actresses' cleavages at the request of authorities.

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