Eurovision fans in China will no longer be able to watch any Eurovision shows, effective immediately. That’s after the EBU withdrew the broadcasting rights of Chinese broadcaster Mango TV (Hunan TV) after it censored Semi-Final 1 of Eurovision 2018.
The Chinese network refused to air Ireland’s performance because it included two male dancers portraying a gay couple. It also blocked Albania’s performance because of the visible tattoos on singer Eugent Bushpepa.
The EBU explained its position in a statement:
“On the 9th of May, Chinese broadcaster Mango TV broadcast the first Semi-Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest live but two performances were censored. This is not in line with the EBU’s values of universality and inclusivity and our proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music. It is with regret that we will therefore immediately be terminating our partnership with the broadcaster and they will not be permitted to broadcast the second Semi-Final or the Grand Final”.
In Vienna, a representative from China’s Hunan Broadcasting System was very enthusiastic about China’s intentions to participate in the contest one day. She and her team are at Eurovision again this year, suggesting the fire is very much alive in them. But with the ban of Mango TV, China has veered seriously off course.
What do you think, was the EBU right to ban Mango TV after cencoring both Ireland and Albania?
If China was looking for that first Asian invitation, they might have just flushed it down the toilet. It looks like Japan, S. Korea or India will get the EBU’s consideration, should they decide to invite an Asian country.
I’m not your pork, stupid dork!
lol who cares? China is about as non european as you can get. Eurovision has nothing to do with the in the first place. hahaha! blocking eurovision because of Eugent’s tattoo and 2 boys dancing together! hahahaha this is too funny
Hypocrites! If we’re all for diversity and acceptance, why can’t we accept that there are countries out there that have different values and censorship? The west would censor nudity & swearing in a Chinese Song Contest telecast to protect the innocence of children. The East censors other things that don’t align with their values and culture. Who is to say they are wrong? The new rainbow flag waving progressive west are supposedly all for diversity and acceptance, but really, its only when it fits with their ideologies. EBU are bullies.
Values that are meant to exclude are wrong regardless of whether they come from the East or the West. Exclusion is a wrong value, period. It cannot be justified based on cultural grounds. If a country is not there yet, they have no business signing contracts to broadcast shows where inclusiveness is the norm.
I agree that exclusion is wrong. So why exclude China from Eurovision?
When they are ready to be inclusive and obey the rules, they’ll likely be reinstated. For now, they need to do a deeper inner searching. There’s no other way to enforce the terms of a contract other than to revoke its benefits when someone doesn’t comply with those terms. China’s exclusion was legally justified, while Albania’s and Ireland’s exclusion from the Chinese broadcast wasn’t. The legal terms of the contract are what distinguish right from wrong.
EBU excluding Mango TV was the right thing to do. EBU’s rules are clear: either you broadcast the entire show, or you’re out.
Ok i’m actually surprised they took a stand and removed the rights. Well done! In any case this won’t stop chinese viewers, you can always use proxy serves XD.
PS. How dare they censor Eugent, he’s so cute :3
I didn’t think the EBU was going to do something about it, but I’m glad they did. Bye, China! Come back when you are in the 21st Century.
I hope Eugent considers showing his tattoos in full without the fancy cover this time around just to make a point that tattoos are okay!
Good on the EBU! If China won’t be inclusive of every aspect of the contest, then they don’t deserve to broadcast it! Also, since they’ve done this, they shouldn’t be allowed to compete in Eurovision Asia if it goes ahead!
Seriously? China’s most certainly part of Asia to e perfectly honest. 😮
Um, Australia, Israel and Azerbaijan would like to have a word with you…
Neighboring Asian countries don’t wanna see them there either. Better to see Hong Kong and Taiwan in Eurovision Asia instead.
Wondering what they would do to conchitas face…. Thank god we got rid of them,european values have nothing to do with china…
YAAS! thank god they are out, they dont belong to eurovision
At least China belongs to the Asian spin-off. 😮
You know, I am actually genuinely surprised that the EBU took a stand here. They seem like such cowards to me, willing to let anything happen for a little more money and viewers. I am surprised China only censored those two. There war so many naked arms and faces in the semi final. lol
Those other acts still serve somewhat of a purpose for the regime, while the two banned ones are a direct challenge. EBU had to take a stand in this case, otherwise it would have set a precedent which many European countries would not have approved of. China is not the only one with a politics department.
I feel bad for the Chinese fans of Eurovision who will miss out. Shame on the person who worked for MangoTV that did this.
They just follow Chinese laws, it’s not allowed on tv,
But they should’ve known better before buying the brodcasting rights!
And they even want to participate in the contest…
Am looking forward to China’s participating
One day ding ding ding ding music never floated my boat to be honest
Of course I am sorry for chinese people, i am sure most of them are open-minded, and it’s just their government…but it was a right decision.
Open-minded? Being a neighboring country around them is a torture. Their economy grows really fast but their people are far from open-minded.
That’s why they focus on manufacturing, because they’re not open-minded enough for smarter jobs. They’re not allowed to think, they are just given parts to assemble and told to plant rice.
Wow, what a very small minded world view. Just put every Chinese person into that very simple little stereotype basket you’ve made there- they’re all not as smart as us, and therefore just all plant rice. wow. Get off your high horse.
I feel bad for the chinese citizens :(. Their government is going total bonkers on them. The government is also planning on using this scary social credit system:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/china-social-credit-system-punishments-rewards-explained-a8297486.html
Also Italy and the Netherlands would probably also have been censored would they be permitted to show the final.
It’s what she deserves.
If the EBU hadn’t terminated their agreement with chinese tv then the whole contest would’ve collapsed immediately since its fanbase to 99 percent consists of gays. 😀
<3
Big props to the EBU for doing this – it was absolutely the right decision. It’s a shame they had to do it in the first place, however.
They deserve it. Anti-LGBT should not be accepted in Eurovision.
Tatoos?
What’s the deal with that? is that immoral or soemthing?
Yeah, even in Japan tattoos are still a big deal because they are usually associated with the Japanese Mafia or criminals in general. You are not allowed to enter a hotspring or are most likely thrown out of a gym (happened to a friend of mine) and you’ll have trouble to find a job there if you’ve got visible tattoos.
European Contest—> European terms. Easy
Yep. Thats the way the rainbow mafia rolls.
I even do not understand why EBU reached an agreement with that broadcaster at the first place. With all respect, China and Europe are like fire/water compared to the values they have.
This also shows how commercial the Show have become, shame!
China has been airing the contest since 2015 and that particular edition featured an act with a pair of same-sex couples. We never heard of any news of the broadcaster censoring the act (Lithuania 2015) so it wasn’t much of a problem then.
Chinese policy and regulations have changed since then, especially gay rights. http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/17/its-still-just-about-ok-to-be-gay-in-china/
Right decision by EBU.
There are rules, and if you dont follow the rules, you have to live with the consequences. I respect EBU for doing that, they made a statement that every artist on stage has the right that their song could spread out through all of the broadcasting countries. With the censoring of Albania and Ireland, this was not guaranteed in Chins anymore (and I‘m sure that acts like Hungary would‘ve been censored as well). But I also feel sorry for the fanbase there because it‘s not your fault but on the other hand, you have to see and accept, that your… Read more »
I can’ t represents all Chinese but I guarantee that most of Chinese fans & Chinese would support banning Mango TV broadcast right of Eurovision after this.
Though the EBU made the right decision regarding this incident, I can also understand why the two acts (both of which I love!) were censored due to China’s strict broadcasting policy regarding the display of same-sex couples, tattoos, etc. Unfortunately, Chinese ESC fans are the biggest losers in all this, and will have to rely on other sources to watch the program…join the club: we have the same problem here in Canada where it’s geo-blocked on youtube!
Another reason why China (especially their own politics) should stay away from Eurovision.
The MangoTV – cut out the entire Ireland performance, the first semi final in Mango TV goes straight from entry 17 to entry 19 – censor the rainbow flag during Switzerland performance or other occurrence – censor the tattoo of Eugent I support the decision make by EBU. China is going backward these day, not long ago the department of broadcasting announced that LGBT contents, “abnormal relationship”, etc. is forbidden. It also regards homosexuals as sex abuse, incest, etc. Call me by your name once was in Beijing Film Festival but was pulled out because of this. As others mentioned,… Read more »
I think it is the right decision. All active members are required to show the contest in full and Mango’s parent Hunan has expressed interest in participating so they should be held to the same expectations as active members. I think Chinese fans who really want to watch will find a way around it and still watch.
I dont necessary agree with the decision since I think this is a government regulation that tattoos and gay propaganda cant be shown. I think it’s actually Eurovision’s lost more than China because I doubt they really care about the whole program to begin with. Meanwhile this can have a minor impact on Eurovision expansion but many Eurofans dont really want it to become a global thing to begin with so the whole thing is just not revelant
Taiwan stays unbothered.
Honestly China has more important things to worry about than a singing competition
China loves to spread propaganda. So, Eurovision is another great opportunity.
Totally right decision. If they want to broadcast the contest they should accept Europe’s terms.
Totally right decision. If they want to broadcast the contest they should accept Europe’s terms.
China shouldn’t have broadcasted Eurovision in the first place if the Chinese government banned tattoo and LGBT contents on television.
Not Mango TV’s fault. They were just pressured by the Chinese government to censor the Albanian and Irish acts.
The homophobic law just came out last year.
Ouch. Sorry. Didn’t know that.
And the ban on tattooes came out in only recent monthes .
This is Eugent Bushpepa’s Hong Kong Fanclub and we are not glad to read those anti Chinese comments in this blog! Eugent has a progressive fame here in Hong Kong but China censors all Western rock artists. Please visit his Hong Kong fansite: http://www.eugenebush-hk.webnode.com
Happy to hear he’s a fan club in HK!
Nice to see the EBU, stepping up for what it stands for. Great job!
Am I the only one tired of none-European countries taking part in Eurovision? There are already 5-6 that I simply don’t understand what are they doing here
I understand…Eurovision is a part of European History. With tradition… us Europeans watching it with our family each year….growing up with it. I just don’t get random countries rolling up and participating.
Hey, you should take back your Eurocentric opinion. China was just broadcasting the show. Europe, after all, is just a geographic term.
And you can see a lot of Asian influences on Eurovision. I think there is nothing wrong with Netta having a beautiful asia influenced staging because after all we are just human being who happen to live on this planet?why so many prejudice?
And you can see a lot of Asian influences on Eurovision. I think there is nothing wrong with Netta having a beautiful asia-influenced staging because after all we are just human beings who happen to live on this planet. Why so many prejudices?
Has China broadcasted the show since 1956? didn’t think so. Eurovision has nothing to do with China. If you are a fan of the show, enjoy watching… even if it’s from 7000 miles away on your VPN.
There were only a few European countries broadcasted since 1956. Don’t forget that many competitors including Conchita are immigrants from non European countries
*
conchita’s born in austria…
How many countries broadcasted in 1956. Seven?
[Måns]: To help to shore up a post-war Europe, in 1956, it all began
[Petra]: The set, I’m rather certain, was nothing but a curtain
There were only seven countries and one camera-man
Because to take part in Eurovision, you have to be a member of the European Broadcasting Union, whose broadcast zone spans from Europe, all the way to Iraq, in addition to a large number of associate members found all over the world.
Oh well, they tried.
Good thing.
LOL and they’ve sent delegations in the past to see if they can participate XD
# ban them from eurovision asia
This is because of the stupid law of The General Chinese Media Department which bans all lgbt content and people with tattoos from all kinds of media . Mango TV actually wanted to show the entire competition without censorship but they are under pressure of the government. Us queer people in China are already facing a lot of problems and we don’t need more hostility .
+1
We are one
You have our support here in Canada! “Jia you!”