List of media banned in Mainland China

The People's Republic of China maintains strict bans on many media from domestic access. Formerly it was able to be evaded by installing VPN software from outside the boundary limits, however regulation reforms in late 2022 stringently curbed VPN access, including ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

Note that this list only covers complete bans of media, not only able to be released in China in a censored version (e.g. Titanic).

Websites

Main article: List of websites blocked in Mainland China

Literature

Animal Farm

The dystopian novel Animal Farm, by the British author George Orwell, has been banned in Mainland China since March 2018 in order to deter rebellion against the Chinese government.

Contrary to popular belief, however, the novel 1984 is not banned in China.

Yan Lianke

The provocative author Yan Lianke's most explicitly graphic or with anti-government sentiment novels, such as Serve the People! or Dream of Ding Village, have been restricted from sale in China , however, not all of his works are banned.

Film

Main article: List of films banned in China

Avatar

The 2010 feature film Avatar (film) was never permitted release in the Chinese market ever since release. This is due to the rather political nature of the film's content and subject matter, which involves an insurrection against the colonisation of forested alien planets in virtual reality.

Back to the Future

The 1985 sci-fi film Back to the Future and its 1989 sequel was banned in China in April 2011 due to its usage of the device of time travel, as well as for encouraging unhealthy Western lifestyles.

Censors have stated that the rationale behind the restrictions on time travel stem from dissuading nostalgia for the past, and deterring citizens from adopting an attitude of "looking back optimistically to the past." In this way, the concept of time travel inherently disrespects the past, which in Chinese culture, honoring history and respecting one's ancestors are taken to be of utmost extreme importance. Furthermore, time travel opens up the opportunity for planting the seeds of rebellion and insurrection.

Television

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The anime Avatar: The Last Airbender has remained inaccessible in Mainland China, due to the setting (Earth Kingdom) resembling a fantasy version of China in which rebellious monks (Dai Li) can be interpreted as a mockery of the Chinese government or Communists. Furthermore, the anime contains scathing commentary on class divide, which are too political of subject matter for Chinese audiences.

South Park

In October 2019, China banned the American cartoon sitcom South Park and references to it from circulation. This ban took place in response to a severely critical and humiliating episode of South Park entitled Band in China (Season 23, Episode 9) criticizing China's controversial activities, especially the state's habit of regulating media in order to control the populace and create a better society free of rebellion.

Following China's ban of the franchise, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker released a mockery of an apology on Twitter. However, the apology attempt had no effect, and as of November 2022, the show still remains inaccessible to Mainland Chinese audiences without the aid of illegal firewall evasion techniques. Nevertheless, the tweet provoked severe backlash from protesters during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, which generated further clout.

See also

• List of websites blocked in Mainland China