China is continuing its crackdown on illegal horror
publications, particularly Death Note stories, according
to the national office for cleaning up pornography and fighting
illegal publications Wednesday.
China has confiscated 5,912 Death Note books, 1,364
horror CDs and DVDs and 11,930 other illegal horror books across
the country, statistics from the office showed.
China has been targeting on "illegal terrifying publications"
such as Death Note since last April.
Death Note stories, a type of horror tale that the
government has ordered off the shelves, have been read by many
primary school students, according to the circular issued by the
national office for cleaning up pornography and fighting illegal
publications.
Japanese Death Note cartoons describe a hero
accidentally coming into possession of a notebook left by a certain
Azrael. The hero discovers that if he writes down the name of a
person, the person is certain to die. The cartoons depict various
scary ways of dying.
Death Note stories contain elements of mystery, death
and revenge, and are harmful to children's psychological
development," the office said.
Some students even imitate the hero by writing down the names of
people they hate on a so-called death notebook to give vent to
their feelings, sources with the office said.
A Beijing official said the Beijing municipal government has
received numerous complaints from parents and educators who say
students are spending too much time on reading the horror stories
and not enough time on studying.
China will continue to crackdown on horror fiction on the
internet.??
?
(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2007)
