China Crackdown on Songs Referencing Gambling at the Nation’s Karaoke Venues

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China Ministry of Culture and Tourism to ban songs that mention gambling at the nation’s karaoke venues. The ministry said it would compile songs that will be off-limits to karaoke operators as they contain harmful information or illegal content.

Apart from songs with gambling information also included are songs that encourage listeners to experiment with drugs, songs that endangers national unity or sovereignty, or songs propagating cults or superstitions.

Instead, karaoke venues are required to supply content that provides healthy uplifting music. They are also required to help government officials compile the blacklist.

In China, all forms of gambling are illegal. Beijing for long has been waging war with cross-border gambling sites that target its citizens, as well as foreign operators who lure Chinese nationals to gamble abroad.

To ban illegal content, China maintains the Great Firewall that limits access to undesirable foreign content. Recently, China has started tightening regulatory control on the Big Tech industry to ensure that they operate in the interest of the state.

However, the crackdown of karaoke seems like part of China’s effort to revolutionize its post-work, hard-drinking culture with correct values.