The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARPPFT), the country’s media watchdog, has cautioned Chinese stars against getting involved in drugs or crime incidents or they may face a lifetime ban.
According to chinaentertainmentnews.com, the announcement came after President Xi Jinping started the moral crusade against graft and smut where many leading film and TV companies have vowed not to take or hire actors involved in gambling, prostitution or drug abuse.
The report said that under SARPPFT campaign, the ban will include not only the stars but also the movies where they star in which will have major implications on the country's entertainment industry.
The media watchdog, however, did not give details about the ban such as the length of time for the punishment.
The report said that the agency is still formalizing the rules that would make it possible to ban just the star so that the entire production team will not be affected.
At the start of the campaign, many Chinese actors and artists have been arrested or involved in various offenses, the report said.
One of them, actor Wang Xuebing, the star in last year's Berlin Golden Bear award winner "Black Coal, Thin Ice," was arrested in March for suspected drug use in Beijing. Director Wang Quan'an was arrested for paying for sex last year, while Jaycee Chan, son of Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, was nabbed for smoking marijuana in Beijing and jailed for six months.
You Xiaogang, head of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, said that SAPPRFT was thinking on whether to ban actors for life, while suggesting that penalizing the star and not the entire production may be better.
Wang Hui, president of Datang Brilliant Media Corporation, said that with this development, production firms would be more cautious on hiring stars. He said that companies would now require actors to sign a waiver saying they would bear responsibility for their immoral behavior.
Wang, however, said that it is difficult to implement as it would be impossible for an actor to compensate for a film that is worth millions.