China's censorship goes into overdrive with ban on US TV dramas

Many Chinese fans of American television are feeling aggrieved. They cannot understand why their government is robbing them of even the small pleasures in life. Earlier this month, four US shows - , , and - were removed from Chinese internet streaming sites on the censors' order. No reason was given.

Since the 1980s, television shows from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the West have won a huge following on the mainland, with Chinese from all walks of life devoting substantial leisure time to such entertainment.

Thanks to rampant piracy and the wide reach of China's internet, the typical Chinese fan of American shows is often more knowledgeable about the shows than most Americans themselves. Some say that these television programmes have become an unwitting tool for the government to "maintain stability" in society. No matter how intolerable the problems are of government corruption, pollution and sexual abuse in schools, China's drama addicts spend no more than a few minutes venting their fury through weibo messages and internet postings before being lured back into the embrace of their addiction. They're too busy being entertained to take to the streets.

The harsher the political repression, the greater the demand for entertainment. Celebrity gossip and television shows offer a convenient escape from reality.

Of course, fans of US television don't think of their pastime as a problem: at least they're better off than those sad people who are obsessed with Korean soaps and their unrealistic love stories. Through American television, they feel, they at least get to know Western culture, perhaps learn a little English (which implies a commendable wish to improve oneself, in case there's an opportunity to go abroad for study or work).

The truth is, without having some basic English language ability, the chance of learning the language from scratch from watching television is nearly zero.