Guangming Daily published an article that criticized the Chinese culture industry because it lacks creativity and hasn’t produced any original programs. "Shanzhai" or imitation, low quality products, plagiarism, and copyright infringement have been common phenomenon in the industry. These low cost programs have overpowered those who wish to produce original programming. The article stated, “Our culture products lack original programs and are weak in their ability to compete in the international market. … In the culture industry, motivating people to be creative is a difficult task.”
Another article that Guangming published discussed how domestic entertainment programs tend to copy programs from foreign countries. The stations duplicate these programs’ format and then compete with each other. In the first six months of 2013, ten different reality singing competitions, similar to American Idol, were launched in China. The Ministry of Press and Publications, Broadcasting, Film, and Television had to issue an order to limit singing competition programs. Then the stations shifted to make reality family shows similar to programs from Japan and Korea. The article stated that, currently, three quarters of the television programs with high ratings are copied from a similar program in a foreign country. The article said the current path that the entertainment programs follow will not last long. Efforts should be made to focus on creating original sources.
Source:
Guangming Daily, November 15, 2013
http://culture.gmw.cn/2013-11/15/content_9498861_2.htm
http://culture.gmw.cn/2013-11/15/content_9498660.htm