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China takes down gay online drama: report
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A gay-themed television drama has been removed from Chinese streaming sites, state media reported Wednesday.
"Addiction" -- a 15-episode series about love between two teenage boys -- cannot be broadcast on the video app of Xiaomi smartphones, a search by AFP showed.
The drama, which made its debut in late January and has had 12 episodes aired, became unavailable on various sites including v.qq.com and iqiyi.com on Monday, said the Global Times.
"There's no reason. It's a result of the broader environment," said the writer and producer of the series, who uses the pen name Chaijidan, news portal ifeng.com reported Tuesday.
China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997 and tolerance over it is greater in major cities though conservative attitudes still remain widespread.
A film with gay principal characters was approved for cinema release last year, its director said, calling it a big step forward, but it has yet to be seen on the big screen.
In an online poll by the Chengdu Committee for the Well-being of Youth and Teenagers, a government-backed social organisation, more than 93 percent of the 20,000 respondents disapproved of the removal.
The blocking is the latest disappearance of an online show, after a drama with transgender elements, "Go Princess Go".
That series depicted a man who travelled back in time -- itself an officially banned theme -- to take over the body of a princess, at first flirting with other women before falling in love with a prince.
Chaijidan said shooting for Addiction's second season would "not be impacted" by the ban and was likely to start in May.
Some users blamed the ban on the series' own marketing, which played up the deletion of revealing scenes, while the first names of the two leading characters meant "heroin" if combined.
"When the producers chose such a marketing line, they were absolutely prepared to have the drama taken down," wrote one Weibo user who said he was gay himself.
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