Chapter 264: The SARFT’s Press Conference!
At the same moment.
The news had spread online!
“Look at the Shanghai SARFT’s penalty notice!”
“Holy sh*t! Why is ‘Zhang Ye’s Talk Show’ halted?”
“Broadcasting of unhealthy information? What did Zhang Ye say that was unhealthy? Those are just contemporary social issues! They were all just cases that have happened before! F**k! If News Simulcast could broadcast that, then why can’t Zhang Ye talk about it? He can’t even mention them?”
“The SARFT is going more and more overboard!”
“Do they even reason things out! I’ve been watching ‘Zhang Ye’s Talk Show’ everyday!”
“He just poked fun at the Koreans a little! What do they mean by disrupting social order?”
“Such ridiculous charges can be just brought up like that? There’s definitely a conspiracy!”
“Everyone, look at the halted programs list, even a damn children’s story program is included! What year is this even? Are they planning a literary inquisition? I’m numb, I’m so angry that my lungs are going to explode! How can such a thing happen? How can this not be a deliberate act! I know the SARFT’s authority is wide and that the SARFT’s rights cover a lot, but taking Teacher Zhang Ye’s program to set an example to others? That’s too despicable! How can that program have problems! It just reflects all the societal issues and it even has a positive effect. The commoners all have expectations and desires because of this program, yet you all want to kill it off? Are you really part of China or the lackeys of the Koreans! Lee Parkwoo publicly questioned our host, bringing fans to publicly scold our entertainment program colleague, yet you didn’t care. You didn’t even ask which program should Lee Parkwoo be allowed to appear on, yet when Teacher Zhang Ye rebuked with facts, you guys from the Shanghai SARFT turned nasty? And brought along the Koreans and their celebrities to kill off our country’s host? I would like to ask, are you all crazy? Are you still humans? Are you still people of China?”
“I blew up too!”
“F**king pushing it too far!”
“With the halt of the program, Teacher Zhang Ye has suffered injustice!”
“There’s injustice to all the programs on that list, didn’t you all realize? Those bootleg programs that copied ‘Zhang Ye’s Talk Show’ didn’t even purchase the copyrights and yet they present their shows in the exact the same format as Teacher Zhang Ye does. Some of the joke segments were even fully copied over, but yet they did not appear on this list. I knew something was wrong! The programs that ought to have been halted did not get halted! What’s the meaning of this?”
“SARFT’s notoriety has been known for a long time, but this time it’s really too much. They should have halted those copycat Talk Shows as well!”
“They are targeting Zhang Ye!”
“Right, they’re deliberately repressing Teacher Zhang!”
There were many nationalistic youths and fans of Zhang Ye who started their scolding online!
Some people even took advantage of the situation. When the order from the Shanghai SARFT was released, a lot of baseless rumors began too. This included those industry insiders and professionals who wanted to scold Zhang Ye but didn’t dare to as his program was enjoying a very high popularity. Seeing that this was the end for Zhang Ye as his Talk Show was halted, they all jumped out to attack and blame Zhang Ye!
“Zhang Ye deserves it!”
“Hahaha! What good news!”
“Banning is very good! Who let him scold our Lee Parkwoo!”
“Have you learned now? Some people cannot be scolded by people like you! What kind of fame do you have and what kind of fame does our Lee Parkwoo have? You shouldn’t overestimate yourself, now you know what trouble you’ve gotten into? It’s too late!”
A Weibo verified expert commentator posted: Zhang Ye’s program really went too far. It crossed the line. It looks like he was just poking fun at the topics, but in truth, that was disrupting social order. What’s the point of scolding Korea? It’s just a few words, but the effects are grave! It might even get to the point that the relationship between the two countries gets messed up. If this sort of program is not handled strictly, then what programs should be handled strictly!?”
Someone rebuked. It was Zhang Ye’s old actor buddy, Yao Jiancai, “There’s the few bad quality Talk Shows that talked about things that crossed the line further than ‘Zhang Ye’s Talk Show’ and that didn’t disrupt any social order. Yet the original by Zhang Ye is not allowed? What kind of reasoning is that?”
That expert commentator answered, “To handle such cases, the first to be clamped down on would be the leader. We have to remove the biggest tumor. The SARFT handled this issue well and without any problems!”
Yao Jiancai answered, “You’re distorting the whole concept! The original needs to be cautious and careful while the thieves can just be so arrogant? Plagiarizing actually gets the stamp of approval from SARFT? What sort of logic is that!?”
On Weibo, Hu Fei also made a post, “I’m wondering, why a rare, original format program in our country that’s doing so well, has such problems? Zhang Ye’s Talk Show is an online television program, but even if we air it as a traditional television program, it’s possible to make the cut. Zhang Ye is a very professional host who graduated with professional training. He has worked for so long too and has several highly rated programs to his name. Why would anyone doubt his professionalism such an experienced and talented host? All of the joke segments he said could be said in public! So you’re saying he’s spreading unhealthy information? All right! Which segments spread the unhealthy information? Could the expert commentator from before point it out to me? I would really like to hear your views!”
Another expert jumped out. He obviously knew Hu Fei in person, but he posted, “Old Hu, Zhang Ye’s walking on a thin line. This kind of thing is like swimming alongside the regulations. Now that he had been used as a classic example because of what he had said, Zhang Ye’s just paying the price.”
Then a few television station personnel also criticized Zhang Ye. They included a few online television station people, there was even the company that plagiarized “Zhang Ye’s Talk Show”. They had picked up on Zhang Ye’s show and copied it without paying a single cent. Seeing Zhang Ye having fallen, they stood up to scold him, the founder of Talk Shows. Their ugly faces and mouth was for all to see!
“Zhang Ye is getting what he deserves!”
“His program should have been halted long ago!”
“In the future, everyone should watch our WebTV Talk Show instead! We can guarantee that we won’t spread rumors or negative news. We will fairly judge the problems in our society!”
There were even some who took the opportunity to advertise.
As the saying goes, a wall could be pushed down by many people, Zhang Ye had suddenly become the target for everyone!
Some were scolding Zhang Ye and some were supportive of him. The internet broke out quickly into a fierce debate discussing whether ‘Zhang Ye’s Talk Show’ should be halted. Everyone had their own point of view on this matter. However, this was only the internet. They were only words and discourse. In actual fact, the meaning behind the halting of the program was known to industry insiders and the common people. There was definitely something fishy about it. As someone in the Shanghai SARFT had not done his job cleanly. They did not investigate the plagerizers nor pursued the matter of plagiarism, yet they banned Zhang Ye. It was very obvious who they were targeting!
Did they think everyone was dumb?
How much smarter could anyone be than the others!
To say that no one had gained incentives or no existence of a personal rivalry, even a dumbass would not believe!
Especially those fans who liked Zhang Ye all this while knew it extremely well. Teacher Zhang Ye had a bad temper because he was frank with his words, causing him to offend many. Other than the television circles, in the broadcasting circles, or literary circles, Zhang Ye had already offended them. There were many who hated him to the bone, and since China was a society where interpersonal relationships mattered a lot, a few phone calls and using one’s ties could cause Zhang Ye to have difficulty moving. Just like today’s matter, there were too many people trying to give Zhang Ye trouble. He had a full range of enemies, so it was impossible to know who set up the obstacle for him!
……
Evening.
Shanghai SARFT.
At the press conference hall.
The reporters had all arrived, but were made to wait outside. The staff did not allow them to go in as it wasn’t near the scheduled time yet. Only staff from SARFT and people whose programs were halted were allowed inside. This was a press conference, as well as a “reflection meeting” directed at the public. After SARFT sent the directive, all relevant personnels that had programs that breached protocol would have to be present at the press conference to express their heartfelt regrets. Usually, such press conferences were rare, but this was a crackdown period. So those who were banned were used by SARFT to serve as a warning to others as well as to emphasize their importance. They made every disobedient television station or related entertainment industry know who was boss!
Zhang Ye’s understanding of the SARFT was rather deep. In his previous world, there had been many similar cases before. For example, the movie “No Man’s Land”. Was its director, Ning Hao, a big shot? Was he famous? He was the publicly acknowledged #1 director in that world, and the actors for this movie? Xu Jing, Huang Bo, all of them were A-list celebrities. They were even the kings of movies. With such a big name cast and the production company was also one with the most network of contacts, yet this film had been dragged on for a full few years before it finally screened. The losses were huge, but what was the cause of it all? It was simply because of a word from the SARFT. The film did not pass the checks, so just wait along. If the SARFT says you can’t screen it, then you can’t screen it!
Was there any other way?
There was no other way! The opponents were the SARFT!
And in this world, Zhang Ye realized that the control of the SARFT towards the entertainment circles was even greater. Zhang Ye’s understanding from his world was that if a program had problems, all they had to do was submit a report, admitting their regulatory negligence. If not, there would be a closed-door review by the SARFT. It was nothing like doing the reflectance in public! And even organizing such a large scale press conference? This was driving them into the depths of hell! They could halt a program as and when they wished, without providing a reason. They could just arrange for any charge against them and all one could do was obediently wait to be banned. They even wanted to make Zhang Ye confess his wrongdoings in front of cameras, without giving him a chance to fight back. What sort of authority was this!
……
Outside the venue.
Zhang Ye had arrived. Wang Xiong and another colleague had accompanied him here.
The reporters had all been waiting outside. When they saw Zhang Ye, they all rushed up with their long lenses and cameras!
“Zhang Ye, what do you have to say?”
“Your program has been halted and this attracted a lot of discussion it. What is your view on this matter?”
This matter was not trivial. Shanghai Television Station and several Shanghai newspapers numbered about eighteen. There were about 20-30 reporters and cameramen!
Zhang Ye looked at them.
What do I have to say?
I only wish to say this to Li Tao– If you don’t let me live life smoothly, then don’t f**king expect me to let you live your life smoothly! The price of making me, Zhang Ye, fall….is very high!