The ban on foreign cartoon broadcasts may not necessarily guarantee the growth of the domestic animation industry, says an article in China Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

On February 19, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a circular that starting from May 1, foreign cartoons will be banned on all domestic TV channels between the hours of 5 and 9 pm. A previous ban, imposed in August 2006, applied to the period between 5 and 8 pm.

In recent years the number of domestic cartoons have kept increasing. The country produced 186 cartoons comprising 101,900 minutes last year, 23 percent more than the year before. Audiences are spending more time than before watching domestic cartoons. The purpose of the circular is to further regulate the market so that it can achieve growth.

It is obviously good news for the local animation industry, but we must see that the policy does not lead to the production of poor quality cartoons. If we produce good cartoons, we do not have to worry about children watching foreign ones. Japanese cartoons are a case in point, they are well produced and attract millions of children.

We simply cannot only depend on a ban to attract audiences.

Poor quality cartoons, no matter how forcefully put before children, will not satisfy them. Therefore, the circular should not only serve to promote the domestic animation industry, but also encourage it to improve content.

(China Daily February 22, 2008)