AOL promises Chinese no sex, no violence, no news

In order to make a deal with the Chinese to become the first U.S. firm operate a cable television company in China, AOL had to promise: “no sex, no violence, no news,” Robert Chua, who founded the channel in 1995, told today’s (Monday) New York Times. Hong-Kong based AOL exec Stephen J. Marcopoto added that, in dealing with the Chinese, it was important to show that the channel, CETV, would not offend their cultural or political sensibilities. Noting that the channel had operated illegally in China heretofore and that AOL has agreed to distribute the English-language channel of China’s state broadcast on three of its cable systems in the U.S., one unnamed broadcasting exec told the Times, “It’s a wonderful bit of diplomatic judo. … The Chinese get some distribution in the U.S. and they give away nothing at all. They look terrific because they can say, “We’re letting foreign television into China.'”