Death Note Banned in China - Not just the ban of a book, it is another infringement. - Yet another infringement on human rights. (First off, it's a shame that I don't understand much mandarin, much less speak much. And unfortunately China's Internet is closed or I'd be posting this on a Chinese forum.) Death Note, as you know, has rapidly become one of the most popular manga series ever, captivating millions of readers. On May 15, Xinhua News Agency posted an article stating that officials in Beijing had banned the manga. (Although the publishers of the manga in China had full legal permission to do so.) Full article here: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-05/15/content_6103672.htm There's been a bit of retaliation from students, etc. , and the reasons for this: "ghosts," "not enough time studying [but reading the manga instead]," etc. are all... so... obviously not the real purpose. [Edit:] Young children aren't even the target audience. Just because it portrays ghosts doesn't mean you have to let your 10-year-old child read it. Frankly such children aren't capable of understanding the moral aspect of Death Note that we seldom think about. Is that the real reason China banned Death Note? I think so. It doesn't want its citizens to be able to tell right from wrong, to be able to judge morality through simple means such as a story. In the past we've had fairy tales and old stories that taught us about such things, and taught us how to analyze things. Stories about good vs. evil, and right from wrong, responsibility versus laziness. You might not like my comparison of Death Note to such things, but think of it as a more advanced "fairy tale": one that challenges your morality. Will you follow Kira? Do you support L? Those are the arguments that may arise, but what I mean here is: why is Kira good or evil, according to your own moral beliefs? And what about L? What if the Chinese government acts like Kira (which we all know it does - I may be flamed for this, so I shall reduce it to "at least in some aspects" - for example, controlling what the public reads and the Internet the public has access to)? Will they want people to even think that it's wrong, for one moment? One thought leads to another. And another. So a few generations from now, it will be seen that more and more thoughts questioning what authority the government should have is there. China's communist society is probably in too deep for a change anyway, and this Death Note incident is only an example of how far in it is going. This might sound ridiculous, but it's what I thought up just by sitting at this comp. I don't care if you believe me or not, but it seems reasonable to me. And frankly if I knew enough Chinese I'd be posting this up everywhere. If you can, please take note of this issue (no pun intended) and somehow pass the message on. The "students" who retaliated were only doing so because they wanted their manga, I am assuming. But maybe some of them would agree with what I have said. I don't know what to ask for, I don't really know why I bothered posting, but I wanted someone to read this and know what I think. If you like, re-post it elsewhere, even on a Chinese forum. And thus the fires of Big Brother's book burnings continue to blaze. I think the people should have the right to read whatever they want. Understanding the "wrong" view just as well as the "right" view allows you to understand what is "wrong." If you only know what is "right" then how do you know when something is "wrong," when your own human rights have yet again been trampled over? (Side-note, you don't have to read this because it goes off-topic a bit: Rather than say that those with such rights and abundances to read and do whatever they want are "spoiled" or "have too much," why not say they are blessed in that they have such opportunities? It's not they who have too much, it is those who don't have "too much," who really have "too little.") And if this keeps going, will it spread elsewhere, and lead to more and more and more censorship until people are no longer aware of things other than what they have been taught to understand? I don't think I can close this message with "...and they lived happily ever after." ~Nightfire [EDIT]: Oh, and those of you in HK can still buy it legally. ^^ ~Nightfire [EDIT]: Copied from another post in order to clarify my statements above:
this is very interesting article, i mean i know death note is addicting and such but i didnt know children in changing so rapidly like this due to the manga
Oh wow! so many crisis happening around the world! very interesting how each country's government differs from each other...
Yes, it seems so. This is an example of China's censorship powers over things, even as small as Death Note which may have some kind of influence. Everything has an influence, as small as it may be, so really even "just a book/movie/video game/sign on the street/etc." can have an impact however small. ~Nightfire
So...we are afraid that there're going to be legions of Kira followers in the real world now? Ph43r Yagami-san! Kira-sama!! Light-oOooooooOoo-kun!!! "Thou shalt being about a new world!" >.< Ehem. Recently the Chinese government has made numerous moves against various forms of media and entertainment. Their strive for uniformality is scary, I don't know what to say. They are too scared of conflict but at the same time want to be the world power? It's hard to do without transcending these obstacles, since censorship isn't going to spur growth. I don't think they're ever going to achieve a perfect system, at least not before the brink of tolerance is broken. However, all of these are overstatements for this actual case itself, though not for what it may be foreshadowing.
Indeed you are correct, I agree completely. Indeed I may have overstated for this case, but I have stated what it foreshadowed and unfortunately I have failed to say that was my intention. I'll copy this post and put it on the first one. Thanks for your post. ^^ ~Nightfire
@OP: What is the infringement you were talking about??? I think I am kind of lost on that count... I don't understand what's the big deal about it... It's FICTIONAL, which part of FICTIONAL, MADE UP STORIES does the officials NOT understand? It's not like they put "for mature audiences only" tapes on the copies of the Dark Tales (聊齋誌異)... or even Flowers in the mirror (鏡花緣)? Because if you ask me, the former literature is exclusively ABOUT ghosts, and the latter has multiple instances where the corruption is blatantly MOCKED. As for making the government look "bad" via comparing Light/Kira to themselves, PLUH-EASE, don't flatter themselves shamelessly like that. Kira kills, of course, and even though I don't agree to his authoritarian punishments (afterall, as we can see with L's early experiment, he is willing to kill an "innocent" investigator who MAY discover his identity), I can see its appeal -- afterall, don't we all want to rid ourselves of pests secretly, without any consequences? Being able to exercise ABSOLUTE POWER is addictive and unhealthy, as we saw in Light's case. And I think Death Note is unintentionally offering a chance of reality check for the Chinese government. Maybe China will be the next super power, but it is unlikely to be the ONLY power, so scrutiny from other nations will always exist... I know it's inappropriate, I still want to LOL @ MONUMENTALLY STUPID MOVE. EVERYONE would want to read Death Note now that it's on the news and censor list... -devil
Firstly I am talking about the infringement on the right to read whatever material they find. You can't expect them all to be perfect "Party Members" in Big Brother's Society and report every copy of Death Note in to the Thought Police, can you? Because that's essentially what it is. They are trying to change the people by infringing on their rights to... read. Here in the US we complain about "free speech" - but hell, at least you can be glad you can have "freedom to read." And I totally have to agree with you, firstly with Death Note unintentionally offering a "reality check" for the Chinese government. Excellent point there. Indeed exercising "absolute power" is addictive and unhealthy - addictive because the one(s) exercising it are pretty much the only ones who gain anything. Indeed, China will be the next super power, but not the only one. Thanks for the excellent input. ~Nightfire
Ah, I see... Nowadays the word infringement is nearly ALWAYS associated with COPYRIGHT in my head, so I was kind of lost Thanks for clearing that up... But on a side note... I guess that's why China is not huge on human rights??? -rolleyes
Haha, yeah. "Copyright infringement" is used all too often! XDD Glad I cleared it up for you. Haha, I guess you're right about China's position on human rights. -rolleyes >.< ~Nightfire
i bought a death note MOVIE in china wor.. -sick.... -dead now.. yea.. china's way different to other country's government. You can tell by that Fa lun gong thing
