Navigating the Changing Seas of Overseas TV in China
The Shift in China’s Online Environment
As a post-millennial in China, my early years of schooling were marked by an exciting digital exploration: watching foreign TV shows through Chinese video streaming platforms felt like opening a mysterious door to the world. It was just a simple process: a few clicks and a range of exciting international shows would appear. At that time, I was particularly obsessed with Sherlock, and platforms like Sohu Video were my gateway to these new worlds.
Sohu has acquired the rights to a multitude of overseas TV series, amassing American, British, Korean dramas, and more in one place, allowing us, the Chinese audience, to immerse ourselves without any barriers. Popular series like ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ ‘House of Cards,’ and ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ are even broadcasted simultaneously with American television, which is incredibly exciting.
However, the landscape dramatically shifted between 2014 and 2015 with the initiation of the “Clean Web 2014” campaign. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) intensified scrutiny over online pornographic content and piracy. Stricter regulations limited the airing of foreign content on Chinese TVs and online platforms, especially during prime time. This led to a significant reduction in the availability of foreign TV series in China.
Censorship and Its Impact on Viewing Choices
Cultural differences and censorship policies made it difficult for many series to pass the censors or even to be aired. To cater to the Chinese market, Western producers often released altered versions, but this frequent editing compromised the continuity and logic of the shows, diminishing the viewing experience. Consequently, many chose to abandon watching foreign series on domestic platforms. Nowadays, mainstream Chinese streaming services mostly featured ‘family-friendly’ shows like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Friends.” However, series like “Modern Family” and “2 Broke Girls,” despite being sitcoms, were barred due to sensitive content like homosexuality and sexual humor.
An interesting case was Bilibili’s introduction of the entire “Friends” series in 2022. Within the first three minutes of the first episode, I noticed that all plotlines about Ross’s ex-wife Carol being a lesbian were removed. Furthermore, all dialogues related to “sex” were sanitized.
For example,
“You had sex” was translated to “你有男人了” (“you have a man now”);
“Date without sex” became “约会” (“date”);
Ross’s envy of women’s ability to have multiple orgasms was translated to “女人有说不完的八卦” (“women have endless gossip”).
Faced with these restrictions, many Chinese viewers abandoned domestic platforms in favor of other ways to watch foreign shows.
There are mainly two ways to access foreign TV series in China: using Virtual Private Network (VPN) or pirate mirror sites.
VPN, known for their ability to conceal users’ real IP addresses and bypass geographic restrictions, allow users to access foreign video websites like Netflix as if they were overseas viewers. However, using VPNs in China is a legal grey area. Despite the relatively low risk for individual users, this practice is neither officially encouraged nor supported. Under the “Provisional Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Management of Computer Information Network International Internet,” unauthorized use of VPNs is illegal. The instability of VPNs and the risk of being banned by cyber police add to the challenges.
Another method is using pirate mirror sites, which offer a vast collection of global TV and movie resources. Due to the narrowing choice on legitimate platforms, resorting to piracy often becomes a reluctant choice.
Looking Forward: A Hope for Change
Despite the challenges posed by censorship, these foreign TV series have played a significant role in broadening the cultural horizon of the Chinese audience. My hope is that China will eventually adopt more globally-aligned policies, allowing for a wider and more diverse range of foreign TV series, and opening the door to more stories that transcend borders.