POLITICALLY CORRECT ANIMATED HEROES EMERGE IN CHINA.Byline: John Leicester Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. In the battle for the hearts and minds of children, China is playing a new 'toon. Donald and Mickey are out; homegrown cartoons with Communist values are in. A new campaign promotes cartoons with Chinese characters and themes. Among them: tales of Confucius, the life of a revered poet, and the fable of a sports hero who soars through obedience and teamwork. In today's market-driven China, it also makes business sense to go after what a state-run newspaper called ``the unchecked spread of foreign comics.'' Parents enriched by economic reforms are lavishing more money on their children, often indulging the every whim of ``little emperors'' born of the government's one-child family policy. Up to 180,000 copies of Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse Famous character of Walt Disney's animated cartoons. He was introduced in Steamboat Willie (1928), the first animated cartoon with sound. Mickey was created by Disney, who also provided his high-pitched voice, and was usually drawn by the studio's head animator, - or ``Mi Laoshu'' - magazine sell in China each month. Hundreds of thousands of kids also have cajoled their parents into buying Disney's ``The Lion King'' and ``Toy Story'' comics after seeing the films. ``Parents want books which will raise their child's educational level,'' said Zhao Ertao, manager of a musty-smelling children's bookstore in western Beijing. ``But children just want the famous characters, things they see on television.'' Chinese officials and newspaper commentators worry that some foreign comics, particularly violent, sexy Japanese cartoons, are a bad influence. And they complain they don't teach kids about China or things Chinese. ``One problem with some imported cartoons is their contents are unhealthy. Also, the life and family values family values pl.n. The moral and social values traditionally maintained and affirmed within a family. they promote do not meet the country's requirements regarding children's development,'' said Kou Xiaowei, a senior publishing official. The administration, the government's overseer of books, including comics, has teamed up with the Propaganda Ministry to promote 15 Chinese-style cartoons. Among the four already written is ``Young Chinese Genius,'' which tells the stories of historical figures including Confucius, the godfather of Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy was philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. Chinese philosophy has a history of several thousand years; its origins are often traced back to the Yi Jing (the Book of Changes , anti-opium campaigner Lin Zexu Lin Zexu or Lin Tse-hsü (born Aug. 30, 1785, Houguan, Fujian province, China—died Nov. 22, 1850, Chaozhu, Guangdong province) Leading Chinese scholar and official of the Qing dynasty, accepted as a national hero for his stance against the British , and Li Bai Li Bai or Li Bo or Li Pai or Li Po or Taibai (born 701, Jiangyou, Sichuan province, China—died 762, Dangtu, Anhui province) Chinese poet. A student of Daoism, he spent long periods wandering and served as an unofficial court poet. , one of China's most revered poets. It seems to matter little to officials - or parents - that Li was also a drunkard One who habitually engages in the overindulgence of alcohol. In order for an individual to be labeled a drunkard, drunkenness must be habitual or must recur on a constant basis. who reputedly re·put·ed adj. Generally supposed to be such. See Synonyms at supposed. re·put  ed·ly adv.Adv. 1. drowned, inebriated inebriated (i·nēˑ·brē·āˈ·t  d),adj intoxicated. , in a stream. More than 200,000 copies have sold, netting the publishers $120,500 in profits, Kou said. ``Soccer Boy'' is another government favorite. It follows its young protagonist, Xindi, as he rises to the national team under a coach who preaches obedience and teamwork - qualities the Communist Party is promoting in a public morality campaign begun this month. ``It reflects the life of young Chinese today,'' Kou said of ``Soccer Boy,'' which is supposed to be on shelves before the year's end. According to the official Guangming Daily, the government plans to pay bonuses to TV networks that broadcast Chinese-made cartoons, and tax the imports. Kou said the government does not intend to ban high-quality cartoons, including Disney's. But ``unhealthy publications'' will have to go. Ultimately, kids likely will decide the winner of China's cartoon conflict, said Kou's colleague, Chen Yingming: ``If China's 300 million children all like Mickey Mouse, there's not much to be done.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) Xindi is the star character of China's ``Soc cer Boy'' cartoon. Associated Press |
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