PYONGYANG – More than 18,500 Chinese banned books were exhibited at the Pyongyang International Exhibition on Forbidden Books Wednesday.

The books, provided by 18 Chinese publishers, demonstrated the futility of publishing material that show the achievements the Chinese people have made in a bad light, said Kim Rae Dong, vice director of the National Library of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Kim admitted that as all of the books on exhibit are written in Chinese, it was difficult for visitors to judge the merits of their conclusion, but added that “we will take our comrades at their word.”

The Chinese banned book exhibition will boost bilateral exchanges and cooperation on censorship, said Yang Yufenng, Chinese charge d’affaires at Pyongyang, adding that an exhibition of books forbidden in the DPRK will be on display in Beijing in September.

The Forbidden Book exhibition started on Monday and will end on Wednesday.

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BEIJING – China has banned online games featuring sinister Dons and baseball bat-wielding Mafiosi, accusing software designers and manufacturers of promoting anti-social behavior.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Culture issued a notice prohibiting such games, which have grown in popularity on the Internet recently.

The games “highlight the anti-social gangster behavior of beating, killing, looting, raping and cheating, and they promote bloodshed and violence,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

They must be banned because they “gravely threaten and distort society’s efforts to build a lawful society and moral codes and will easily harm the youth,” the statement said, adding that authorities will strengthen their control over “cultural content” on the Internet.

Operators must immediately stop running or promoting the games, or providing links to them, according to the statement, which threatened “heavy” punishments, including taking a pipe to the legs of game providers. In the case of repeated offenders, a garrote will be applied.

Some companies have already started internal investigations and removed some games from their Web sites.

Crime Interactive, which creates and markets such popular games as Extreme Mobsters, Midnight Mafia and MobLife, said it will discontinue legal sales in China, but will continue to sell through its network of Triad members.

Midnight Mafia allows players to become a boss of a crime gang. They have the choice to collect money from their casinos, whorehouses, loan sharks and gambling dens, according to Crime Interactive CEO Luigi Belladonna.

China has the world’s largest online population, with 338 million Internet users, making authorities nervous about the impact that cyberspace may have on the methods used to fight to the top.

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BEIJING — CHINA’S broadcast watchdog has banned Websites from showing popular unlicensed U.S TV shows as part of its efforts to tighten control over online audio and video content, most of which breaches the rights of copyright holders. They must be replaced by less popular unlicensed shows from list approved by the government.

The new policy, published on the Website of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television on Monday, puts an end to Netizens freely uploading, viewing and sharing the best television shows on domestic video-sharing Websites such as Tudou.com and Youku.com.

According to the policy, unlicensed television dramas, sitcoms, and mini-series are now banned from domestic Websites unless they are on the list.

Most of the popular TV dramas from the United States are unlicensed, according to an employee, surnamed Peng, from Openend.com, one of China’s biggest online television Web portals.

She said only qualified companies or TV stations entitled to distribute TV shows could obtain a license to do so. Websites will not be granted licenses except for 10 authorized programs, she said.

Most of the American dramas online were uploaded by Netizens and never authorized.

Domestic video sharing Websites have become a shortcut for local audiences to access the popular drama shows, such as “Prison Break,” at almost the same time as viewers in the US.

Yang Beiliu, chief executive officer of Tudou.com, said any video clips involved in copyright disputes would be removed from Tudou.com immediately and replaced with titles from the
authorized list that includes:

1. Woops! (1992) starring Fred Applegate (Jack Connors), Lane Davies (Curtis Thorpe), Cleavant Derricks (Dr. Frederick Ross), Meagen Fay (Alice McConnell), Marita Geraghty (Suzanne Skillman), Evan Handler (Mark Braddock) and David Lascher (Kiefer). Kids accidentally set off a nuclear missile and the Russians counterattack results in the world population reduced to six people left to live on a farm: the narrator, an ex-school teacher, a feminist, a stock broker, a homeless person and a pathologist.

2. Webster (1983-1989) starring Emmanuel Lewis (Webster Long), Alex Karras (George Papadapolis) and Susan Clark (Katherine Calder). A post-retirement football player and his wife have their lives shaken up when they take in the orphaned son of a former teammate.

3. Babes (1990 – 1991) starring Wendie Jo Sperber (Charlene Gilbert), Susan Peretz (Darlene Gilbert) and Lesley Boone (Marlene Gilbert). Babes revolved around three overweight sisters, – who all lived together in a tiny New York City apartment – and their relationships and careers.

4. The Ropers (1979-1980) starring Norman Fell (Stanley Roper), Audra Lindley (Helen Roper), Jeffrey Tambor (Jeffrey P. Brookes III), Patty McCormack (Anne Brookes) and Evan Cohen (David Brookes). Three’s Company landlords Stanley and Helen Roper leave the apartment complex and move into a new one.

5. Small Wonder (1985-1989) starring Dick Christie (Ted Lawson), Marla Pennington (Joan Lawson), Jerry Supiran (Jamie Lawson), Emily Schulman (Harriet Brindle) and Tiffany Brissette (Vicki the Robot). Dad creates a robot, Vicki, but the family keeps it secret from the rest of the world (including nosy neighbors), pretending she is really part of the family.

6. Perfect Strangers (1986-1993) starring Bronson Pinchot (Balki Bartokomous), Mark Linn-Baker (Larry Appleton), Melanie Wilson (Jennifer Lyons), Rebeca Arthur (Mary Anne Spencer) and Belita Moreno (Lydia Markham). Balki Bartokomous, a sheepherder from small Mediterranean island Mypos, moves in with his American cousin.

7. Homeboys in Outer Space (1996-1997) starring Flex Alexander (Tyberius Walker), Darryl M. Bell (Morris Clay), Rhona Bennett (Loquatia), Kevin Michael Richardson (Vashti) and Paulette Braxton (Amma). Button-down type Morris Clay and fun-loving type Tyberius Walker fly about in a winged car starship called the Space Hoopty. The on-board computer, Loquatia, has a crush on Morris. The homeboys travel on adventures that include Ty’s brother-in-law Vashti and bounty hunter Amma.

8. Shasta McNasty (1999-2000) starring Carmine Giovinazzo (Scott), Jake Busey (Dennis) and Dale Godboldo (Randy). The show follows three slackers – Scott, Dennis and Randy – and their band Shasta.

9. George (1993) starring LaCrystal Cooke (Vanessa), George Foreman (George Foster), Pablo Irlando (Mauricio Butler), Tony T. Johnson (‘Bubba’ Foster) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Maggie Foster). About an ex-boxer who works with troubled kids.

10. Cavemen (2007-2008) starring Bill English (Joel), Nick Kroll (Nick), Sam Huntington (Andy) and Kaitlin Doubleday (Kate). Inspired by a Geico insurance ad campaign, the sitcom follows cavemen Joel, Nick and Andy in their experiences with modern day life and how they fit in as Neanderthals.

Tudou encourages original video clips, Yang added.

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