China's airing of 'V for Vendetta' stuns viewers
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In this Oct. 21, 2011 file photo, masks, including "V for Vendetta," left, are displayed at a Ricky's Halloween store in New York. The airing of the movie on Dec 14, 2012 on China Central Television stunned viewers and raised hopes that China is loosening censorship. -- PHOTO: AP
BEIJING (AP) - Television audiences across China last week watched an anarchist antihero rebel against a totalitarian government and persuade the people to rule themselves on a state broadcaster channel.
Soon the Internet was crackling with quotes of V for Vendetta's famous line: "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
The airing of the movie Friday night on China Central Television stunned viewers and raised hopes that China is loosening censorship.
V for Vendetta never appeared in Chinese theatres, but it is unclear whether it was ever banned.