An article posted on the official website of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC)
on August 31, declared that the entertainment industry must not harm the state’s interest. The
article comes in the wake of the CCP crackdown on the entertainment industry and recent broader
clampdown on the private sector. Private capital has been blamed for contributing to the risks of
data breaches, education inequality, the disintegration of the Chinese culture, threatening social
stability, harming state security, among other deep seated concerns. According to the State Council
Information Office in 2019, the value-added of China’s entertainment industry reached 4,436.3
billion yuan, accounting for 4.5 percent of China’s GDP. Stating that money has been driving the
growth and the chaos in the entertainment industry, the article said entertainment stars induce and
influence fans’ consumption habits (particularly young people), ultimately eroding the socialist
ideology. It said “Entertainment is by no means mere singing, dancing, and playing music, but an
important battlefield for ideological and cultural work. It is an important part of the superstructure
[a Marxist term referring to culture, political power, and the state], and it is critical to Party [CCP]
work. If capital is allowed to expand unfettered, entertainment will fail its role of serving the people
and socialism, and it will disintegrate the spiritual homeland of the Chinese nation.” It said the
entertainment industry "cannot harm state interests; and it cannot corrupt Party members and
leading cadres, let alone seek improper political gains.”
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