From Sept. 1, Chinese children will be able to watch domestic cartoon programs during 5 p.m. every day, according to a regulation by prefix = st1 /China's TV watchdog. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has decided to ban all foreign cartoons during the "Golden hours", reported the Beijing News. No foreign cartoons or programs of introducing foreign cartoons can be shown during the period on all domestic cartoon channels, the regulation says. Only after 8 p.m. can foreign cartoons appear on TV, it requires. The regulation has been issued to local TV stations but the administration has not made it public, according to the newspaper. Cartoon programs co-produce by domestic and foreign producers will have to get approval from SARFT to show during 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. from Sept.1. The first foreign cartoon introduced to Chinawas a Japanese cartoon called "Astro Boy" series in 1981. Since then, a large quantity of foreign cartoons _ China. Incomplete surveys show about 80 percent of interviewed Chinese children like foreign cartoons according to the Southern Metropolis News. With the effects of regulations and establishment of 15 film and cartoon production bases in recent years, domestic cartoon industry attracted huge civil investment, resulting in a sharp rise of cartoon programs in 2005. However, due to the poor popularity among children, domestic cartoons found it hard to show during "golden hours", and even had troubles to get back the production costs. Moreover, it was the content of domestic cartoons that lost the audience, said the editorial, therefore improving the creation environment of cartoon makers is much wiser than such market-protecting measures. Finally it said it was reasonable and necessary to introduce system into the cartoon competition to protect the domestic industry, the complete prohibition of foreign cartoons and compulsory screening of domestic ones during popular hours was rather unreasonable. "This is a worrying, short-sighted policy and would not solve the fundamental problems in China's cartoon industry," it concluded. Why does Chinaban foreign cartoons "in golden hours'?
In order to protect the children. In order to save domestic cartoon industry. In order to solve the fundamental problems in China's cartoon industry. In order to take market-protecting measures.