BEIJING, Dec 14 (AFP) - China has banned a planned groundbreaking television talk show which had promised to deal frankly with sexual issues, state media said Tuesday.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a notice Monday banning the late-night talk show program entitled "The Mask" which was produced by the Beijing Shixi Media company and was to be broadcast in 50 cities from January 1, Xinhua news agency said.
"Following investigation, Beijing's Shixi Media has not obtained the Television Broadcast Program Production and Operation License and has no right to produce and operate television programs," Xinhua quoted the notice as saying.
The program was billed as China's first late-night talk show on sex.
The half-hour show, which aimed to be educational, was to consist of a discussion with a masked guest of a problem in his or her sex life which would then be analysed by an expert.
Analysis of erotic film scenes would also be presented.
The company has been trying to sell the program to several TV stations, prompting the administration "urgently" to issue the notice ordering rejection of the show.
The administration, in its notice, also told television stations across the country to "strengthen management" of talk shows, especially those with sexual content, and to "firmly reject" programs that "guide people in the wrong direction and create a bad influence on society," according to Xinhua.
The ban indicates China's media censors are still uncomfortable with the subject of sex despite dramatic changes in Chinese people's views about sexual matters in recent years, including increasing promiscuity and teenage sex.
The rising number of cases of HIV/AIDS and venereal disease in China has spurred many experts to call for more open discussions about sex in a society where it is still a taboo.
China is estimated to have 840,000 HIV/AIDS cases, according to official figures, although experts said the real figure is much higher.
Sexual transmission has become one of the main forms of transmission of the virus and threatens to spread the disease from specific groups such as prostitutes to the general population.
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