Why are movies banned when the printed version is not? In China this is not unusual. The Chinese government will ban a movie but allow for the book to sell on stores. Why does the government feel that the movie is worse? According to Yu Hua of the New York Times, the reason for this is there are many publishing houses in China so the book has multiple chances to be picked up and published where as all of the movies have to pass through the government for approval before being approved.
However, television is less closely monitored until it comes to new broadcasts. News broadcasts are the most monitored because this is real information that the Chinese government may not want their citizens to know about. Even though the government has a lot of control over their citizens even down to what movies they can view, believe it or not the control is about economics not politics. According to Hua, "When it comes to censorship in China, the primary factors are often economic, not political.
Publishing houses that were once government financed have operated as commercial enterprises for years now. Editors are under pressure to make the biggest profit they can. Even if a book carries some political risks, a daring editor will take the gamble if there’s a chance it will be a best seller." The reason the Chinese government does not have as much control over the books that are printed is because each of the printing houses are individually owned and not state owned. Individually owned printing houses do still have certain rules they need to abide by but the government does not see a book before it is printed. The Chinese government is becoming less invasive, however they still have a long way to come for their citizens to have the freedom that we in the United States have.