Potter dodges China ban on horror audio, visual products

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Beijing, Feb 21 : China’s film watchdog on Thursday said Harry Potter series would be kept out of the ambit of its recent ban on horror audio and visual products.

Hollywood blockbusters Shrek , Toy Story, Gremling and E T would also escape the ban as their contents”are healthy”, an official of the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) said.

China had last week banned the sale of audio and video products with “elements” of mystery and horror, saying it was an initiative to protect the “psychological development” of the country’s teenagers.

The horror, violence and cruelty depicted in the audio and video were unfit for children and extremely harmful for their psychological development, the GAPP had said in a circular.

GAPP’s clarification comes in the wake of reports that E T directed by Steven Spielberg would come under the ban. Spielberg had quit as an artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics organising committee saying China was not doing enough to stop bloodshed in a civil conflict in Darfur region in Sudan, despite its influence. China has a major stake in the oil industry in the East African country and is the largest arms supplier to it.

GAPP official said the ban would be applicable to horror audio and video products “specifically plotted for the sole purpose of terror and severely harmful to minors physical and mental health,” Xinhua news agency said.