‘Vendetta’ airing stuns China viewers
‘Vendetta’ airing stuns China viewers
BEIJING (AP) — Television audiences across China watched an anarchist antihero rebel against a totalitarian government and persuade the people to rule themselves. Soon the Internet was crackling with quotes of “V for Vendetta’s” famous line: “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
The airing of the movie Friday night on China Central Television stunned viewers and raised hopes that China is loosening censorship.
“V for Vendetta” never appeared in Chinese theaters, but it is unclear whether it was ever banned. An article on the Communist Party’s People’s Daily website says it was previously prohibited from broadcast, but the spokesman for the agency that approves movies said he was not aware of any ban.
Some commentators and bloggers think the broadcast could be CCTV producers pushing the envelope of censorship, or another sign that the ruling Communist Party’s newly installed leader, Xi Jinping, is serious about reform.
“Oh God, CCTV unexpectedly put out ‘V for Vendetta.’ I had always believed that film was banned in China!” media commentator Shen Chen wrote on the popular Twitter-like Sina Weibo service, where he has over 350,000 followers.
Super Mario man
is arrested in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a man dressed as a Super Mario Brother has been arrested for groping a woman in New York City’s Times Square.
An NYPD spokesman says 34-year-old Damon Torres of North Bergen, N.J., was charged with forcible touching on Wednesday. Police say Torres blocked a 58-year-old woman’s path in front of 4 Times Square and grabbed her thigh before walking away.
The woman notified police officers, who arrested Torres at the famous tourist attraction. Torres was also charged with marijuana possession.