Banned TV & checking email?
 

I read a while back that watching TV involving time travel is banned in China. Is this true?

Also is it safe to check confidential business email?

I don't believe it's a blanket ban on time travel. Rather, there was a genre becoming popular of travel back to better times. That obviously upset the government.

It depends on how 'confidential' is confidential -- but if you are concerned, use a VPN to check email.

tb

The "time travel" ban was aimed at provincial TV stations that were producing a string of weird time travel-based dramas. I recall seeing one where the plot involved a modern-day girl falling in love with a prince in an old Qing Dynasty painting and somehow getting whisked back in time to meet him. If I remember correctly, the logic for the ban was that these shows depicted a distorted version of Chinese history that could confuse people... :rolleyes:

Certainly, nobody is going to care if you watch Dr. Who or Back to the Future. And in any case, even the ban on the schlock spewing forth from the likes of Hunan TV seems to have no impact on anything, as many of these dramas are now into their second season or beyond and have shown no sign of letting up any time soon. :p

As far as email goes, I would advise you contact your company's IT and/or infosec departments to ensure that you are complying with any applicable security procedures regarding your firm's confidential data. As a general rule, you should be connecting to your email via an encrypted protocol regardless of where you are in the world, and the risk of a random attack is no greater in China than anywhere else. If your company is likely to be a particular target of industrial espionage, it should have appropriate safeguards and policies in place and be able to get you up to speed.

Funny the mention of Back to the Future. I saw a dubbed version of it on CCTV 4 (I think), or was it 6? a few years back when I was eating dinner at a restaurant...

There's been a whole string of orders in the last year or so from the ministry that governs TV content - mostly towards popular regional channels like Hunan TV and Jiangsu TV that have pushed the envelope in 'creative' programming. The ones off the top of my head is the time travel thing, and all the dating shows like If You Are The One (非诚勿扰) and talent-type shows (Super Girl 超级女声）have either been 'harmonized' or cancelled.

Much to my surprise (and consternation), I actually found some of it entertaining.

Don't you mean 被河蟹了 ("river-crabbed")? :p
FYI, the river crabs are the enemies of the 草泥马 (grass mud horses).

(Also, I'm quite surprised that I was able to find that song on Youku without any trouble; it was itself "river-crabbed" for quite some time after it was picked up by the NYT and other Western media.)

How did they come up with the name river crabs?

I have had the Chinese mitten crabs in Suzhou, what's this new name?

河蟹, héxiè, meaning "river crab" resembles 和谐 héxié meaning "harmony", referring to government censorship to create a "harmonious society".

More reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_1...ical_Creatures

Not new. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_c...ernet_slang%29

Yeah that makes sense, the mitten crabs are invasive, they dug trenches
to keep them from invading farmland and when they put hot water on them to stop them, they noticed a fragrant aroma. Actually they are quite delicious to eat.:)

But what is the meaning of the term Grass Mud Horse?
That looks like a lama, where did that come from, that seems like an odd name?

Wow, those are some pretty nasty terms.
Can understand why they banned those.