Top 10 Most Outrageous Things Banned in China

The People's Republic of China has risen to become a dominant authoritarian power, utilizing its technological advantages to suppress dissent. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), fearing potential uprisings from its citizens, has enforced compliance through social engineering. Starting in 2014, the Party introduced a detailed Social Credit system that ranks citizens based on their everyday actions. Even minor offenses, like late bill payments or traffic violations, can significantly lower a person’s social score. If this score drops too low, access to basic services, such as public transport, is denied.

In China, citizens are tightly controlled using a combination of surveillance cameras, spies, and algorithms. CCTV cameras equipped with facial recognition technology are used to automatically catch jaywalkers and impose fines. Government apps enable citizens to report individuals who deviate from social norms to the authorities. An army of internet censors also works around the clock to monitor online content and remove posts critical of the government.

Xi Jinping, who recently abolished presidential term limits to rule for life, has purged his political adversaries within the Party. As a seasoned politician, he has fostered a personality cult both inside and outside the CCP. Those who defy “Papa Xi” risk being sent to re-education camps. Life in China means never knowing whether you’ve unknowingly broken the law, as regulations are constantly changing. Ideas, words, and objects can suddenly be banned, and people can mysteriously disappear from public life.

10. Ghosts & Time Travel

In recent years, government regulators have adopted a more forceful stance to protect the CCP’s interests. The Party fears anything that might weaken its authority, including religious symbols or supernatural themes. This is why films with elements of ‘terror, ghosts, and the supernatural’ are banned. Movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Crimson Peak, and Ghostbusters (2016) have all fallen victim to the country’s anti-ghost policies.

Sony Pictures went to great lengths to secure a release for Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters remake in China. Anticipating potential issues, Sony changed the film's Chinese title from ‘Ghost Catcher Dare Die Team’ to ‘Super Power Dare Die Team.’ Despite these efforts to please the censors, including cutting entire scenes, the movie was ultimately banned anyway.

Back in 2011, China effectively erased time travel movies and TV shows from its entertainment landscape, coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the CCP’s founding. The state media regulator argued, ‘Producers and writers are trivializing serious history, which should no longer be encouraged.’ The real motive, however, was to prevent filmmakers from challenging the Party's official version of history.

9. Unusual Company Names

In 2017, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce announced a crackdown on company names deemed bizarre, inappropriate, or overly long. New businesses could no longer adopt names considered politically sensitive. For instance, any reference to the Falun Gong, a religious group that has faced intense persecution from the government, is strictly prohibited.

A condom manufacturer, ‘There is a Group of Young People With Dreams, Who Believe They Can Create Wonders of Life Under Uncle Niu’s Leadership Internet Technology,’ was among the first companies required to shorten its name. Businesses with poor Chinese or ‘Chinglish’ are also banned.

Following the government crackdown, social media users began highlighting businesses with strange names. It was speculated that companies like ‘Hangzhou No Trouble Looking For Trouble Internet Technology’ and ‘Beijing Afraid of Wife Technology’ would soon face the same fate.

8. Harrison Ford

Today, China plays a crucial role in Hollywood's global box office success, and with a population exceeding one billion, it’s clear why. Movie producers are well aware of this and often avoid making films that might upset Chinese sensibilities. For example, MGM’s remake of Red Dawn originally depicted China invading the United States, but after China learned of the plot, the studio spent millions to change the antagonist to North Korea.

Similarly, actors with controversial political views often face the wrath of the CCP. Harrison Ford, for instance, is banned from entering China due to his support for Tibetan independence. In 1951, China invaded and annexed Tibet, forcing its leader, the Dalai Lama, to relinquish his homeland’s sovereignty. Tibet remains a highly sensitive issue, with Chinese officials accusing the exiled Tibetan government of inciting unrest.

Harrison Ford’s political beliefs were strongly shaped by his former wife, Melissa Mathison. The late screenwriter contributed to the 1997 Disney film Kundun, which tells the story of the 14th Dalai Lama's monastic upbringing. The film faced severe backlash in China. Both Mathison and director Martin Scorsese were banned from entering the country. Disney quickly issued an apology, acknowledging its mistake after the communist regime began banning its products.

7. Open Taxi Windows, Pigeons & Ping Pong Balls

In 2012, images began circulating of Chinese taxis with missing window handles. The CCP had instructed taxi companies to remove these handles ahead of the 18th National Congress in Beijing. Passengers were also made to sign agreements preventing them from opening taxi windows or doors at ‘important venues.’ This was part of a strategy to control public dissent during the congress. Drivers were further warned to watch out for balloons and ping pong balls marked with anti-CCP messages. But the restrictions didn’t stop there.

Deadly weapons, such as kitchen knives and pencil sharpeners, were banned from stores across the city. Pigeon owners were forbidden from letting their birds fly freely, fearing they could be used to spread subversive leaflets. For the same reason, citizens were required to show identification before purchasing remote-controlled planes.

6. A Plague Simulation Game

At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, a mobile game called Plague Inc. became hugely popular in both China and the United States. Originally released in 2012, Ndemic Creation’s game challenges players to spread a deadly pathogen worldwide. Players achieve this by adjusting the disease’s characteristics to increase its infectiousness and lethality.

The game’s growing popularity quickly caught the attention of Chinese censors, who demanded its removal from the nation’s largest digital platforms, including Steam and the China App Store. After eight years on the market, the Cyberspace Administration of China claimed that the game contained ‘content that is illegal in China.’ No further details were provided, but the ban occurred amid a broader government crackdown on information related to the covid outbreak. The CCP has been accused of downplaying the number of deaths caused by covid in the early stages of the pandemic and has obstructed an international investigation into the virus’s origins. Citizen journalists who accused the CCP of a cover-up have faced arrest.

In response to the covid crisis, the game’s developers released a new mode where players work to control and resolve a viral pandemic rather than create one. Additionally, the team has donated over $250,000 to support vaccine research initiatives.

5. South Park

The creators of South Park took the opportunity to satirize the Chinese government’s authoritarian regime. In an episode titled ‘Band in China,’ one of the characters is detained for attempting to sell marijuana in China. He is sent to a Chinese ‘re-education’ camp, where he encounters fellow prisoners Pooh and Piglet. ‘Some people said Pooh looked like the Chinese president,’ says Piglet. ‘So we’re illegal in China now.’

4. Christmas Gatherings

Christmas in China has become largely a commercialized occasion. Department stores capitalize on the season with special promotions, market stalls are decorated with Christmas ornaments, and e-cards are exchanged via WeChat. A more unique custom involves gifting ‘Peace Apples,’ believed to bring goodwill to those who receive them. However, over the years, the religious significance of Christmas has been purposefully reduced.

Only a select few religions are officially permitted in China, and even those are subject to strict government oversight. Religious texts have been altered, religious leaders imprisoned on fabricated charges of subversion, and places of worship have been destroyed. The Chinese Communist Party, in a manner reminiscent of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, aspires to build a society where citizens revere only its communist leadership and reject any other spiritual practices.

It is no surprise that the Chinese Communist Party has aimed to regulate Christmas celebrations. In 2018, the education bureau instructed schools to refrain from marking Western holidays. Teachers were advised against decorating for Christmas, hosting parties, or exchanging Peace Apples. Several cities have gone so far as to ban stores from selling Christmas-related goods and decorations.

Churches that fail to register with the government face constant persecution. In various regions, Christians are prevented from participating in Christmas gatherings, driving them to celebrate in secret. Acting on directives from the State Administration of Religious Affairs, police have been assigned the task of shutting down unauthorized Christmas services. In 2019, a member of a church in Nanyang City explained their clandestine approach: 'We hold Christmas in small [household] gatherings, meeting early and in secret.'

3. Erotic Banana Eating

Although pornography production and distribution are illegal in China, with punishments potentially reaching a life sentence, the government escalated its crackdown in 2016. The Ministry of Culture condemned live-streaming platforms for propagating pornography and violent content, uncovering that a significant portion of viewers were male, many of whom were watching female performers. As a result, the authorities imposed restrictions, including a ban on streamers wearing miniskirts, stockings, and suspenders. State broadcaster CCTV also reported that the act of erotic banana eating was now forbidden, as it was believed to threaten the nation’s 'social morality.'

China now demands constant surveillance of all major streaming services. Individuals hosting live streams are required to register their real identities with the government and undergo facial recognition scans, a procedure that extends to fans who make monetary donations. According to the regulator, broadcasts must 'actively spread positive energy [and] promote truth, goodness, and beauty.'

2. Wordplay

In an effort to bypass internet censorship, Chinese citizens have resorted to clever wordplay, much to the irritation of the CCP. The term 'Grass Mud Horse' (Caonima), which closely resembles a vulgar phrase in Mandarin, has become a symbol of defiance. This mythical alpaca-like creature swiftly gained popularity online. Grass Mud Horse-themed memes, blogs, music videos, plush toys, and clothing lines quickly emerged. Soon, Grass Mud Horse Day was established, coinciding with the CCP's own Party Day.

The Grass Mud Horse story originated from a satirical entry on Baidu Baike in 2009. According to the tale, the creature resides in the 'Male Gebi' desert (which readers can investigate themselves). One day, a horde of river crabs, whose name 'hexie' sounds like the word for 'harmony' in Chinese, attacked the Grass Mud Horse. In internet culture, censored content is often referred to as being 'harmonized,' which alludes to the CCP's recurring emphasis on a 'harmonious society.' Baidu's version of the story concludes with a victorious battle, where the Grass Mud Horse defeats the river crabs.

In the lead-up to the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television imposed a blackout on content that might provoke social unrest. The Great Firewall began purging the internet of anti-censorship jokes and memes, including those referencing the Grass Mud Horse and river crabs. Officially, the government claims the censorship is meant to protect the integrity of Chinese culture and language.

1. Images of Umbrellas and Jasmine

China has a long history of suppressing symbols of resistance. The government has not only forbidden discussion of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Incident but has even erased the massacre's anniversary from online search results. Millions of censors work tirelessly to purge any sensitive topics from the internet.

As part of the Great Firewall, references to the Jasmine Revolution of 2011 are also heavily censored in China. The Jasmine Revolution, which saw Tunisia's citizens overthrow a corrupt regime, sparked solidarity protests across a dozen Chinese cities. In response, the CCP used force to suppress the demonstrations, arresting and beating activists. Any mention of the Jasmine Revolution, including the flower itself, was blocked from the internet. Jasmine-related songs vanished from streaming platforms, and the sale of jasmine flowers was prohibited in Beijing, leading to a drop in market prices. The China International Jasmine Cultural Festival was even canceled that year.

Censorship measures were also applied to the simple umbrella, a symbol associated with the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement. In 2014, when President Xi Jinping visited Macau, located just west of Hong Kong, journalists attending the event were instructed not to bring umbrellas. Instead, they were provided with raincoats. One perplexed journalist recalled, 'They said you couldn’t open umbrellas at the airport because it would affect the flights.'