China passes first-ever laws on film industry
The National People's Congress has passed its first-ever law regarding the movie industry, banning film content that is deemed harmful to the "dignity, honour and interests" of the nation, as well as encouraging the spreading of "core socialist values". The new law will enable theatre owners and distributors who inflate ticket sales to be fined. The Hollywood studios and booming Chinese film-making industry are in fierce competition for China's lucrative movie market, which is predicted to soon eclipse that of the US. Presently, only 34 foreign films are given cinema releases each year under a quota set by Beijing, and all are subject to official censorship.

(Beijing) — China's first-ever law for the film industry streamlines and codifies the movie-making process to promote local productions, while simultaneously addressing more practical matters like box office inflation, experts said.

Under the country's new film law, the number of reviews for each film will be reduced from the previous two to just one. That means movies will still need approval before a theatrical release, but will no longer need the previously required approval before production can begin.