Five hit online dramas were removed from the Internet yesterday, causing a stir among fans and in the industry. Go Princess Go, The Lost Tomb, The Death Notice, Blind Spot and Criminal Minds were all taken off their respective video streaming sites.
"Roughly six popular online dramas were reported and screened. Two were halted permanently, and the rest will be screened again after the necessary alterations. Violence, nudity and superstitions were the main targets. There will be a meeting specifically on online dramas during the Spring Festival. What will happen after then? We'll have to wait and see," wrote Sina Weibo user Xiushou2000, a prominent figure in the film and television industry. The sixth online series refers to Wu Xin: The Monster Killer, aside from the five aforementioned dramas.
As of today, Wu Xin: The Monster Killer is the only series that can be watched online.
The withdrawal did not come without warnings. As early as Jan 15, at the finale of Go Princess Go, rumors of media watchdog's decisions to withdraw the phenomenally successful show on moral grounds surfaced on social media. Prior to this, Go Princess Go reportedly underwent massive re-editing after warnings by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. LeTV, which streams the series and is one of China's biggest online video companies, much like Netflix in the US, denied the rumor, stating that they "reserve the right to investigate rumormongers and Internet media who spread this false news."
As of noon yesterday, Internet users reported they could no longer view Go Princess Go online due to "copyright issues."
LeTV responded through an official statement on its Weibo account.
"LeTV's original production Go Princess Go has been loved by the media and fans ever since its debut. While creating a record high 2.7 billion views online and 2.68 billion discussions of the series on Weibo, the series also attracted unprecedented attention for its overthrow of the traditional methods of online drama production, marketing and broadcasting.
"As required by the authorities, Go Princess Go was withdrawn at noon on Jan 12 (users abroad can still view the program). We apologize for any the troubles this has caused."
According to chinanews.com, Lv Haojiji, director of Go Princess Go, confirmed the authority's decision to withdraw the series Thursday night. As for "morality grounds", the director responded that "even the horse-riding scene in the first episode seemed to have its problems."
Lv said he is unaware whether the series will resume online after re-editing.
Go Princess Go has attracted a wide fan base ever since its debut."It's very funny and light-hearted. All the actors are handsome. Many of my friends and classmates are fans. I will pay to watch it," says Feng Shanshan, 21, a student in Beijing.
Feng says her enjoyment also comes from sending out messages while watching it online. She feels that she can share comments with viewers across the country about the funny bits.
Some are very regretful about the removal, while others are not.
"I haven't even seen it, and now it's off the shelves? That's hard to accept!" Weibo user Liu Shuoyanyy lamented.
"I'm not the least sorry; in fact, I don't feel anything at all. The script is absurd to me, and not nutritious to the mind at all. I don't watch things of that sort," wrote Weibo user Xiaodaidai jia.
Weibo user Napianbihaiyuntian seemed angry with the authority's decision. "What is a good show? If it's loved, very real, not fake, not exaggerated, what's wrong with an online series? Why don't they ban the outrageous anti-war series?"
Go Princess Go, a small-budget online series without a star cast, has been a hit among young Chinese since it was broadcast on a streaming website in December, with daily "views" crossing more than 10 million.
Adapted from an online novel, the 35-episode series is a comedy about how a modern playboy accidentally time-travels to a fictional dynasty and unexpectedly turns into a crown princess and then an Empress Dowager.