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Online entertainment
網上娛樂
A craze too foreign
熱潮太洋
China tries to restrict foreign entertainment online
中國要限制網上的國外娛樂產品
FOR young professionals in China's cities, watching television online has become a part of daily life. In Shanghai, for example, many office workers watch their favourite TV shows at their desks during lunch-hours, on the metro on the way home, or even while walking on the city's crowded pavements.
在網上看電視節目已經成為中國城市上班族日常生活的一部分。譬如說在上海，許多白領會午休時在桌子上看他們最愛的電視節目，而乘地鐵回家時候也要看，甚至走在熙熙攘攘的人行道上還要看。
Foreign TV dramas are a particular attraction. They are strictly controlled on terrestrial television stations, but can be watched free on China's video-streaming websites. This year Chinese viewers have been gripped by “House of Cards”, an American political drama series, as well as by several South Korean shows and the BBC's “Sherlock”, which was available with an authorised Chinese translation hours after being shown in Britain.
外國電視劇尤其吸引人。這些劇在本土被電視臺牢牢把持，不過反而可以在中國的視頻網站上免費觀看。今年中國觀眾就迷上了美國政治劇《紙牌屋》，還有幾部韓劇。BBC制作的《夏洛克》也受到追捧，這部劇在英國本土播出數小時后，就會有經過授權翻譯的版本出現在中國的網絡上。
Yet viewers may soon find their choices more limited. Last week China's TV regulator said that, from April, any foreign series or film would need approval before being shown online. Chinese media say that regulators are also considering limiting the number of foreign series shown online to a specific proportion of total output. The new rules appear aimed at closing one of the biggest loopholes in China's control of its media: on terrestrial TV, for example, foreign dramas are banned in prime time. Many are forbidden altogether.
但觀眾可能馬上就要感覺到選擇受限了。上周，中國的電視監管部門表示，從今年四月起，所有電影或電視劇都需要許可方能在網上播放。同時中國媒體報道稱，監管部門也在考慮限制網上播出的外國電視劇數目，將其限定在占總量的某一比例。新規則似乎也意在堵上中國媒體管控中最大的漏洞：比方說，電視臺就是在黃金時間禁止播放外國節目。有許多電視臺更是完全放棄播出。
It is not clear how strictly the content of foreign programmes shown online will be vetted. But the regulator's call for “healthy, well-made” works which “showcase good values” seems to echo a recent tightening of controls on terrestrial TV. These include bans on dramas dealing with topics such as superstition, espionage and—bizarrely—time travel. Earlier this year Chinese websites were ordered to remove several American TV series; at least one of these, it was announced, would be shown, edited, on state TV instead. In a hint of what may follow, the government broadcaster recently screened the fantasy drama “Game of Thrones”—minus nudity and violence (ie, the point).
對網上外國節目內容審查有多嚴格，目前還不清楚。但監管部門呼吁要有「展現良好價值觀」的「健康，精良」的作品，似乎是對最近官方收緊電視臺控制的呼應。如今電視臺里禁止播放以迷信，諜戰為題材的節目。莫名其妙的是還禁了穿越劇。今年早些時候，官方命令網站將幾部美劇下架；后來宣布說其中至少有一部將會在國家電視臺播出，不過是編輯過的版本。為了示范接下來會怎么做，政府的電視臺最近播出了奇幻劇《權力的游戲》——少了躶體與暴力（本劇的關鍵點）。
The new controls may simply push younger viewers away from authorised providers and towards pirate sites instead, says a Chinese academic specialising in media studies. At a time when China has at last begun to bring copyright infringements under control—the country's main video-streaming websites now pay foreign producers for their TV shows—that would be a step backwards.
一位專于研究媒體的學者表示，新的管制可能只會把比較年輕的觀眾從有授權的網站趕到盜版網站去。如今中國終于開始管控侵犯版權的行為，而主要的視頻網站現在也給外國生產商的電視劇付費。管制真是開倒車啊。譯者：周鼎燁
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