CHINA TO CRACK DOWN ON ONLINE VIDEO
By The Associated Press August 16, 2006
BEIJING - China
will regulate video on the Internet following a surge in satirical items in which real film clips are remade into mocking
send-ups.
Video spoofs have become
so popular that Chinese have even coined a new slang term, "egao," to describe the act.
Beginning in late August
or September, only authorized Web sites such as Sina.com, Sohu.com and Netease.com will be allowed to show short films, the
official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday, citing an announcement by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
A recent example of the
trend, it said, was a 10-minute satire of a 1974 propaganda film called "Sparkling Red Star," which chronicles the struggles
of a brave child soldier who fights feudalists and Japanese invaders in revolutionary-era China. The satire uses the original
clips to tell the story of an aspiring pop star competing in a television singing contest.
Among other recent spoofs
was a 20-minute short titled "The Bloody Case of the Steamed Bun," using clips from director Chen Kaige's elaborate costume
drama "The Promise."
