Actors must follow moral guidelines or face bans: China

BEIJING • China published last Friday a new list of moral guidelines for actors and other performers, saying they could face a permanent ban from their profession if they fail to comply.

Performers should not "violate ethics, morals, social public order or good customs, causing serious negative social impact", the Chinese Association for Performing Arts, a non-profit organisation backed by the government, said on its website.

Performers should not incite hatred and discrimination between ethnic groups, or promote cults and superstitions, the association said.

The new rules will come into force on a trial basis on March 1.

The association did not say why it had decided to introduce such a policy, but Chinese consumers have become increasingly vocal about their expectations for the behaviour of companies and celebrities.

Italian luxury label Prada last month cut ties with Chinese actress Zheng Shuang, 29, whom it had just appointed as a brand ambassador, after she was embroiled in a surrogacy controversy that has enthralled the Chinese public.

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and Taiwanese actor Kai Ko were among the artistes named by an opinion piece published under the pseudonym Xiakedao, which ran in the overseas edition of the official People's Daily last November, as it called for their ban.

Fan, 39, was embroiled in a tax-evasion scandal in 2018, while Ko, 29, was arrested for taking drugs in Beijing in 2014.

In its new guidelines, the association also said performers should not organise, take part in or promote illegal activities such as pornography, gambling, drugs and violence.

Those found to have fallen foul of the new rules will be allowed to resume work only after obtaining the approval of an ethics unit, it added.

REUTERS