Kangxi Festival’s Beijing Stop was cancelled ~ internet cries wolf

Anyone who’s involved in China studies will hear a phrase that is very often employed by the government: “不要政治化” ~ basically meaning “don’t make it a political issue, foo” (please imagine a Mister T intonation on that). Apparently, the PRC is having a hard time following its own catchphrases and thusly cpop fans on the internet are going crazy due to the recent canceling of the Kangxi festival in Beijing ( 康熙盛典北京演唱会).

According to a recent article from cpopaccess.com, the Chinese government has “banned Taiwanese artists”:

It looks like the previously reported cancellation of KangXi Festival might not have been the fault of the organizers.

According to reports, China’s PRC film censorship bureau (SARFT) quietly recently issued a verbal order to temporarily shutout Taiwanese hosts. The reason? So that New Year’s Eve concerts and variety shows do not become “money-burning contests”.

Jacky Wu, as well as Xiao S and Tsai Kang-yung, hosts of Martial Arts Gathering and KangXi Festival respectively, were rumored to have been affected.”

As a lover of the show Kang Xi Lai Le (康熙来了), I’m sorry the festival was cancelled for Beijing fans. A search of the SARFT website, predictably, reveals nothing on the issue. I’m sitting here, chuckling at the notion of a “huge money burning contest” since the CCTV New Year’s Gala (中国中央电视台春节联欢晚会) is like an institution . It’s already huge, grand, and synonymous with a pile of burning money. You can check out the history of the gala on wikipedia. You’ll probably notice that many of the guests on the show are Taiwanese entertainers.

If there’s any truth to be found in this rumor (that’s what this is, people, a rumor!), it’s in the fact that CCTV is losing viewers to Taiwanese and cable channels like crazy. Of course, official ratings don’t show this, but I can tell you that my post-80s Chinese friends aren’t sitting at the television glued to CCTV.