"I'm used to the U.S. and following the laws. Clearly China is a different place." more ›

We'd heard about it coming for a while, but I suppose it's finally official: Chinese movies and tv shows are now to "limit" the amount of scenes with people smoking in them. Now, dramas with scenes that contain smoking need to keep them "as short as possible." In addition, minors under the age of 18 can't be shown smoking or buying cigarettes, and characters can't flout smoking laws. The orders from SARFT are supposed to help support "China's stance on tobacco control" and stop entertainment from "mislead(ing) the public, especially the youth." A possibly unintended effect: modern Chinese movies and tv shows will just be that much more out of step with real life. more ›

So now not only are you not allowed to pose as a fake doctor (sadly killing off most expat men's chances of appearing on Chinese television), you're also not allowed to endorse a product without knowing if it actually works. A law that makes celebrities liable if their endorsed products turn out to be fake or dangerous has gone into affect today. According to the newest interpretation by the Supreme People's Court, “If these people know the nature of fake and inferior drugs but still help promote them, they will be dealt with as accomplices of producers and dealers of the products.” It doesn't really state how the courts plan on making sure celebrities knew their products were harmful before they started endorsing them, which calls into question how effective the law will actually be. Depending on how far the courts take this, it'll either have a chilling effect on celebrities appearing at all on ads, or everything will stay exactly the same. Source: China Daily more ›