The Chinese-owned iQiyi video broadcaster has confirmed that it has blocked access in Singapore to ten gay-themed TV series. But she says the move is temporary.
“Content has been temporarily removed as per Infocomm’s guidance on R21 content,” a company spokesperson told Variety via email. R21 restricts viewing to persons over 21 years of age.
Banned shows include “KinnPorsche” and “until we meet again” from iQiyi in the original Thai which fall into the “Boys Love” or BL genre. Romantic relationships between men (mostly young and handsome) have become very popular in Southeast Asia. A lot of the audience for them are adults and women.
The Singapore government recently said it will continue to restrict and categorize media content with LGBTQ subjects, even after decriminalizing planned same-sex relationships.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in August a move to repeal a colonial-era law criminalizing sex between men. The law, Section 377A of the Penal Code, was introduced in 1938 and set a two-year prison sentence for “any indecent act of public morals” between two men, whether in public or private. But Lee said the marriage law would be strengthened to include only heterosexual couples.
We will continue to rely on prevailing standards. Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information said in August that LGBT media content will continue to guarantee higher age ratings.
The country’s film law does not allow content that is “promotion of homosexuality” or content that includes “excessive depictions of sexual activity between members of the same sex.”
In June, Disney’s animated movie “Lightyear” was restricted to those 16 and older by the country’s rating board, citing its depiction of a kiss between two characters.
The country’s agency IMDA, which oversees the sector, recently clarified that according to its content code: “Movies focusing on alternative sex may be rated at (highest) a rating of R21. Non-explicit images of sexual activity between people of the same sex may be shown in R21 rating.
iQiyi says it will introduce stricter access controls as part of its user interface. The system may require the use of a PIN for individual addresses.
“We are working on improving the user interface and aim to reinstall the relevant content catalog once the required mechanism has been implemented,” the company said.
The company told Variety that the incident will not have an impact on the playback or licensing of content as it expects the proposed technology solution will allow it to make the catalog available again within Singapore after the current shutdown.
iQiyi also confirmed that BL offers have been removed from access in Singapore only in response to the regulatory action. This means that the series is currently available in Malaysia, the Muslim neighbor of Singapore which has already banned “Lightyear” and the latest “Thor” movie due to their LGBTQ elements.
The incident is rich in contradictions. iQiyi has set up a regional headquarters in Singapore so you can do things that aren’t allowed in mainland China – like commission Korean shows, screen and LGBTQ content. A regional success, “KinnPorsche” was not previously available on iQiyi in mainland China.
The incident also highlights the tightrope being run by the many international media conglomerates that have set up their regional headquarters in a country that opposes many of the liberal ideals they seem to represent. Singapore is socially conservative and has one of the lowest ratings in the world for press freedom.
Although such problems are likely to occur in Singapore, the drift of people and media focus is likely to continue. Hong Kong, traditionally Asia’s other media hub, is being undermined by the actions of its government and police. In the past 18 months, many media outlets have closed, including the leading opposition newspaper, Apple Daily.
And in recent days, Hong Kong police have arrested Ronson Chan, president of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and accused him of obstructing his business. The arrest may be a move to prevent Chan from traveling to the UK where he was due to participate in a fellowship program at Oxford University.
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