China cracks down on TV lip synching | AsianPacificPost.com | Chinese newspaper, Filipino newspaper, Philippines newspaper, Philippine newspaper and media publ

Zhang-Ziyi-came-under-fire-from-Internet-users-for-doing-a-shabby-job-of-miming.

China has told artists on its annual top-rating TV gala show on Chinese New Year’s Eve not to lip-synch their songs, local media reported, a controversy that overshadowed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
A mainstay of state-run programming since the 1980s, CCTV Spring Festival Gala attracts hundreds of millions of viewers to watch hours of comedy sketches and kitsch song-and-dance acts often heavily imbued with patriotism and themes emphasizing national harmony.
But the show has also come under heavy criticism in recent years for being overcommercial and not keeping up with the times, and for trotting out presenters who fluff their lines and celebrities who do a poor show of miming their way through songs.
Officials from China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) had demanded producers pick “real” singers, along with other directives about arranging songs with “healthy” lyrics, a report posted on web portal China.com.cn said.
“Make real singing as the benchmark, and choose talented performers who can truly sing.”