Differentiating good from bad: Cultural policy in regulating transnational cultural flows in reform-era China

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to reveal how the Chinese government has tried to regulate transnational cultural flows by applying cultural policies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper compares the dissemination of different foreign television programmes in China since the 1980s. The documents of cultural policy released since 1990s, news reports and the statistics of imported dramas since 2000s will be analyzed.

Findings

The research finds that the Chinese government has treated cultural products from different countries in unequal ways. Political-diplomatic relationships and the need for ideological control, influence the making of cultural policy. Restricting the quota of imported dramas, censorship and propaganda are measures taken by the Chinese government to regulate transnational cultural flows.

Research limitations/implications

The paper mainly focuses on platforms such as state-owned television stations and internet. The role of pay-cable channel in disseminating imported dramas should be taken into consideration in the future research.

Practical implications

The paper provides a systematic understanding on the development of Chinese cultural policy.

Originality/value

The paper offers an alternative approach to explore the policy-oriented dissemination of transnational cultural flows other than market-oriented dissemination.

Citation

Chen, L. (2016), "Differentiating good from bad: Cultural policy in regulating transnational cultural flows in reform-era China", Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 166-180. https://doi.org/10.1108/STICS-08-2016-0011