One of the most successful drama series in China in the past year is Word of Honour, which depicts the friendship and brotherly love between two male protagonists.
At a national conference on the television and film industry earlier this month, Yang Shuo, who heads the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, said his authority has banned thegenre in films and TV series completely to "create a clean and healthy cyberspace for the capital city". Boys' love narratives have proved increasingly popular in Southeast Asia, both within the LGBT community and among heterosexual women.
dramas today mainly lie in the fans, the great online buzz they create and online fights among different rival groups. If the popularity ofAuthorities are increasingly concerned by China's zealous fandom landscape, where organised groups of fans devote time and money to boosting their idol's popularity, including voting online, buying celebrity merchandise and leaving favourable comments on social media.
Despite content changes, authorities still want to pull the plug on the genre because it mainly targets teenagers, according to screenwriter Wang Hailin who claimed gay love is sickening and promoting it is tantamount to committing a crime.