OT - Way OT ( Officially Ticklish) -- China Declares Fred Flintstone Enemy Of State - "Just Say No To The Cartoon Network" --

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Friday, February 4, 2000

That's all folks: mainland bans cartoon channel

Banned: Daffy Duck and friends

REUTERS

Yabadaba don't - the Flintstones will not be showing on mainland televisions this year, at least not legally.

Turner Broadcasting's TNT & Cartoon Network has been barred from broadcasting into the highly restricted market.

Authorities are not saying why and Turner Broadcasting officials say they are mystified. It is the latest chapter in a bumpy relationship between Time Warner Inc., which owns Turner, and Beijing.

An edition of Time magazine was barred last year, apparently for carrying articles by prominent Chinese political exiles. CNN was blocked for a while around the 10th anniversary last year of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Now Scooby Doo and Daffy Duck appear to be on the hit list.

"Their actions violated relevant Chinese rules," an official with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said of the network.

"They know very well what they did."

A spokeswoman in Hong Kong for Turner Broadcasting System Asia-Pacific said the company was given no reason for the ban, which took effect last month.

Beijing maintains a list of 18 foreign satellite channels officially approved for limited distribution to tourist hotels and housing compounds for foreigners.

CNN is on the list, along with HBO Asia and Star Movies English Channel owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. However, other foreign channels are widely carried by mainland cable companies flouting the regulations.

The spokeswoman said the loss of potential viewers in the market - estimated at about 100,000 - would have little impact on the company's bottom line.

Asked whether the ban might be disguised punishment for unfavourable news coverage on CNN, the spokeswoman said: "I honestly don't know."

A foreign media consultant said Cartoon Network's exile might reflect a move away from overseas children's programmes.

In October, Beijing removed children's programming from a list of categories of foreign content that stations were permitted to buy.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), February 06, 2000

Answers

Ruh-roh...

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 06, 2000.

Outrageous. The banned cartoons aren't nearly so controversial as Teletubbies.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), February 06, 2000.

This has got to be a huge slap in the face to Comrade Ted. That the Marxists in Beijing would find his networks unsuitable for the masses after they've ben sooooooo effective at mind-numbing the masses over here.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 06, 2000.


Tinky-Winky lives!

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 06, 2000.

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