China’s state censor is banning the children of the rich and famous from appearing on reality TV shows, a move local critics believe is stop them from further embarrassing their parents and the government.
The state censor took the decision after a number of controversial incidents involving the offspring of the country’s super wealthy elite.
China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPRFT) had announced a ban on the children of celebrities appearing on reality TV, with the new rules officially supposed to protect minors from being exploited by TV execs.
Chinese social media began speculating that removing the spotlight from the lives of the super rich, particularly their more carefree and fame hungry offspring was the sole purpose of the new regulations.
In recent years, the children of wealthy businessmen, actors and state officials have been embroiled in countless scandals involving illegal street racing of super cars, sex, drugs as well as overt shows of wealth on Instagram. These scandals as well as the flaunting of wealth fly in the face of President Xi Jingping’s austerity drive, crackdown on graft as well as attempts to lessen the gap between the new super rich and ordinary Chinese.
One of the most notorious rich kids is Wang Sicong, son of one of China’s richest men Wang Jialin, chairman of Dalian Wanda the giant real estate to theme park conglomerate that also owns Hollywood studio Legendary and theater chain AMC. Wang Sicong caused controversy last year for posting a picture on Instagram of his dog wearing two gold Apple watches. The picture led to a thinly disguised rebuke in an op-ed posted on Xinhua that said there “are certain celebrities that recklessly disseminate vulgar information… from the worship of money to sex and violence.”
Source; THR
