Television Censorship Authority Delegated to Some Provincial Offices

The People's Daily reports that China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television has announced that it will delegate the authority to control television program production to five provincial-level offices, including Beijing and Zhejiang. Other provincial offices are apprently not affect by this announcement. According to the People's Daily, in the past every television program in China had to be approved by SARFT's headquarters in Beijing twice: once before production, and again after filming. Under the new rules, some SARFT provincial-level offices in these localities will be able to determine what can be aired themselves, and have to receive authorization from SARFT's headquarters only if the television programs in question involve foreign actors or cooperation with foreign producers.