ST: SCV fined for airing lesbian kiss in music ad (April 9)

April 9, 2008
SCV fined for airing lesbian kiss in music ad

CABLE television operator StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) has been fined $10,000 for airing a music video that showed two women kissing for about nine seconds.

The clip for Sha Hai Zi (Silly Child) by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan aired over MTV Mandarin Channel on Nov 26 and 28 last year. It shows Yan kissing and embracing actress Pei Lin.

According to the Taipei Times, Pei has been getting kudos from netizens for her portrayal of a lesbian in the music video, supposedly a first for Taiwan.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement on its Web site on Wednesday that 'romanticised scenes of two girls kissing were shown and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable'.

The statement added: 'This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.'

MTV Mandarin had classified the music video as a commercial for Olivia Yan's album.

MDA had consulted the Advisory Committee for Chinese Programmes and the committee agreed that the clip had promoted lesbianism as 'acceptable and romantic'.

Caitlin Fua, StarHub's Corporate Communications Manager responded: 'We are disappointed with MDA's decision to impose the penalty.'

She added however that SCV understood MDA's concern and will work with their content partners to ensure that local broadcasting guidelines are adhered to.