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Article: A soap opera, China's teens, and a cyber-revolt.(World)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- May 24, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Jasper Becker Special to The Christian Science Monitor
BEIJING -- Chinese teenagers are not defying the state over democracy these days, but over the freedom to watch their favorite TV soaps. And the government seems helpless to stop them.
When the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television banned the Taiwanese series "Meteor Garden" in March because it "misleads teenagers," Chinese kids just switched to watching it on the Web or bought pirated video compact discs.
"We sold over 50 sets within a week of the ban," boasts 23-year-old Li Xia, a saleswoman who runs a small video shop just next door to the district court in ...