Rules allowing censorship of depictions of homosexuality criticised
When the Ministry of Culture banned actor Denny Kwan on April 25 from appearing in movies for a year for wearing revealing clothing, the decision drew fire for what many felt were its sexist overtones. It also called attention to the ministry’s code of ethics, a February 23 document that dictates what behaviour is acceptable for artists. But within another seldom-mentioned set of ministry guidelines, created in 2011, are restrictions that give the ministry wide latitude to censor depictions of homosexuality, which LGBT advocates have called discriminatory. The “Guidelines on Classification”, which are not widely available, but were recently obtained by The Post, guide the ministry in determining film ratings, and even whether or not a movie should be banned.
