The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) has published new rules further restricting the freedom of writers and publishers in China.
Authors will now be required to register their real names and publishing platform, so although they can still use a pseudonym the government will be able to track all their works. Before these guidelines, writers could use a nom de plume to avoid prosecution due to the content of their work.
The restrictions have ostensibly been introduced to encourage writers to "write responsibly" and to prevent plagiarism.
Murong Xuecun, however, who himself writes under a psuedonym, told China Topix that "it is very clear that the government is taking these measures with the intention of suppressing online creativity."
Following previous regulations requiring internet commenters and video uploaders to register with their real names, the rules make it impossible to do or say anything annonymously in China, enabling authorities to trace any statement back to you.
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Earlier this month, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the guidelines were drafted in response to Xi Jinping desire to spread "Chinese values" in literature.
As for the irony that almost every single modern writer celebrated by Communist Party published under a pen name - frp, Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Mo Yan to father of modern Chinese literature Lu Xun, as well as Ba Jin, Lao She and former Minister of Culture Mao Dun - safe to say it's been lost on Chinese authorities.
Chinese writer Mo Yan has been commended by the CCP for his works under his pen name.
According to the SAPPRFT, the new guidelines will not affect "legitimate writers" who already have a contractual agreement under their real names.
[Images via Wikimedia Commons]
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