Thursday, December 09, 2004

this doesn't sound very good:

Activists yesterday urged the Government Information Office (GIO) to put on hold the new Measures Governing the Rating Systems of Publications and Pre-recorded Video Programs over fears they will encroach on freedom of speech.
"This is an obscure ratings system, the goal of which we believe is to censor publications. We hope the GIO will delay enforcement of this regulation until public hearings, which include teenagers, have been held," said Wu Ming-hsuan, a spokesperson for Reset, an online commentary magazine.

...
The regulation requires publishers or stores to label restricted publications.

"Since the regulation came into effect [on Dec. 1], what has been happening is that publishers and book rental stores rate all publications that touch upon the topic of homosexuality "R," no matter what the precise contents might be," said Wu Hsu-liang, a spokesperson for gay rights support group Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline.

...
"If this ratings system is to be strictly enforced, then popular comic books such as Doraemon and Crayon Shinchan ought to be rated `R' too," Wu said.