China's press and publication regulator has issued a notice announcing the launch of another nationwide crackdown on "vulgar" video and audio products.

The notice, dated December 25, 2007, was posted on the website of General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) on Friday.

The notice said after a three-month quality check of China's entertainment market, GAPP found the contents and covers of certain video and audio products in the country were "vulgar".

Some of the video and audio products are coarsely made, containing materials of bad taste; some are replete with sexually suggestive languages like "absolutely erotic", "not suitable for those under 18" and half-nude images to promote sales; and some are showing female nudity in the name of "body art", said the notice.

Before January 15, audio and video producers should stop the production and sale of vulgar products and recall those that are already on the market, GAPP said in the notice.

After that, GAPP's provincial bureaus will have to carry out inspections and submit before the end of January a written report and samples of vulgar products to GAPP, which will then conduct spot checks across the country.

GAPP threatened in the notice to punish audio and video producers who continued to sell the prohibited products, but did not say how.

The notice came as the latest one of a series of "bans" and "crackdowns" on pornography given by China's censors around the new year week.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) ordered Thursday cinemas to stop public screening and distribution of Lost in Beijing, a film it accused of containing pornographic scenes.

Beijing Laurel Films Company, which co-produced the racy migrant tale with Beijing Poly-bona Film Publishing Co. Ltd and Beijing Zhonghong Real Estate Development Company, was banned from making films on the Chinese mainland for two years.

A SARFT official said the film's producers had used the cut scenes from the original copy in the advertisement and had spread the deleted scenes through the Internet.

On Dec. 29, 2007, SARFT issued a ban prohibiting producers of erotic movies from competing for any film awards.

The ban also prohibits directors and leading actors from taking part in such any awards.

"The heaviest punishment for such violation would lead to a five-year ban of perpetrators from the movie industry," according to the ban.

The SARFT asked nationwide studios not to produce films with footage of hardcore activities, rape, whoring, obscene sex exposing human genitals, or sex freaks. Vulgar conversations, nasty songs and sound effects with sexual connotation were also restricted.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2008)