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Flaunting obscene wealth as bad as smutty Websites
By Wang Yong |
January 13, 2009, Tuesday
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CHINA has closed 91 Websites in a whirlwind of righteous punches against what it calls "low taste" to protect impressionable young minds.
While the closure is appropriate, one question remains: What is "low taste" besides what most people would call pornography?
Indeed, almost all of the 91 Websites were closed for spreading porn, such as the "789 nude arts," that was anything but arts.
Nudity per se is not low taste, but "789 nude arts" went too far with pictures of what its operators called "lewd sisters."
Many of China's leading news portals, such as sina.com and sohu.com, were also found to have posted and spread prurient pictures. They apologized and were allowed to continue operating.
But are these two portals, and hundreds of others, paragons of good taste?
Far from it. If you regard flaunting wealth as low taste, you will see my point.
Few Websites in China today can wean themselves from money worship. Stories that have the effort of spurring you on to "keep up with Joneses" plaster the front pages of most Websites every day.
Money worship, though not necessarily low taste in capitalist cultures, has always been despised in mainstream Chinese culture for thousands of years. And yet Website stories and pictures about material vanity ?? obscene wealth ?? have not been eliminated along with porn in the current bout cleaning up.
So, what is low taste? It's a relative term and its meaning changes with the times. Nudity per se was low taste, even obscene, in China 30 years ago, but it isn't now. That's why China hasn't closed all Websites featuring nudes.
But porn and money worship have never levered themselves up the moral ranking. They were and are low-taste pursuits in Chinese culture.
It's a pity that policy makers have neglected the epidemic mindset of "keeping up with Joneses" that has paralyzed many people who are supposed to uphold the values of simple living as did their forefathers in the 1950s and before.
There's a myth about Internet regulation, which basically justifies any regulation on grounds it is necessary to protect minors.
The reality, however, is that adults are often not minors' betters. Adult men and women are no less influenced by porn and vanity.
Close low-taste Websites and thus protect the tone of the whole society, not just the mental health of youth ?? though youth are more vulnerable to low-taste information.
I support the government crackdown on low-taste Websites. My only worry is whether porn is the only thing to be kicked out.
The government has added "spouse swapping" in the low-taste category, but flaunting wealth ?? the worst of all low taste ?? has yet to be included in the low-brow bracket.
Which is bemusing.
While the closure is appropriate, one question remains: What is "low taste" besides what most people would call pornography?
Indeed, almost all of the 91 Websites were closed for spreading porn, such as the "789 nude arts," that was anything but arts.
Nudity per se is not low taste, but "789 nude arts" went too far with pictures of what its operators called "lewd sisters."
Many of China's leading news portals, such as sina.com and sohu.com, were also found to have posted and spread prurient pictures. They apologized and were allowed to continue operating.
But are these two portals, and hundreds of others, paragons of good taste?
Far from it. If you regard flaunting wealth as low taste, you will see my point.
Few Websites in China today can wean themselves from money worship. Stories that have the effort of spurring you on to "keep up with Joneses" plaster the front pages of most Websites every day.
Money worship, though not necessarily low taste in capitalist cultures, has always been despised in mainstream Chinese culture for thousands of years. And yet Website stories and pictures about material vanity ?? obscene wealth ?? have not been eliminated along with porn in the current bout cleaning up.
So, what is low taste? It's a relative term and its meaning changes with the times. Nudity per se was low taste, even obscene, in China 30 years ago, but it isn't now. That's why China hasn't closed all Websites featuring nudes.
But porn and money worship have never levered themselves up the moral ranking. They were and are low-taste pursuits in Chinese culture.
It's a pity that policy makers have neglected the epidemic mindset of "keeping up with Joneses" that has paralyzed many people who are supposed to uphold the values of simple living as did their forefathers in the 1950s and before.
There's a myth about Internet regulation, which basically justifies any regulation on grounds it is necessary to protect minors.
The reality, however, is that adults are often not minors' betters. Adult men and women are no less influenced by porn and vanity.
Close low-taste Websites and thus protect the tone of the whole society, not just the mental health of youth ?? though youth are more vulnerable to low-taste information.
I support the government crackdown on low-taste Websites. My only worry is whether porn is the only thing to be kicked out.
The government has added "spouse swapping" in the low-taste category, but flaunting wealth ?? the worst of all low taste ?? has yet to be included in the low-brow bracket.
Which is bemusing.
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