'Breasty' TV commercials

Although the NCC will rule whether certain video game commercials are indecent, no government agency has jurisdiction over print media, writes 'The China Post'

The China Post
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The National Communications Commission (NCC) has come under pressure to decide either to fine TV stations for indecency for letting young girls shake their half-hidden breasts in commercials to promote video games, or to agree with advertisers that the ads are simply "creative artwork." If found to have broken NCC regulations, a fine between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million may be assessed.

Whether the "breasty" commercials are indecent or obscene is a moot question. Practically all countries of the world have an obscenity law, which, however, has been increasingly relaxed. Media enjoy freedom of the press, though they must be careful not to violate laws that forbid reporting or displaying anything considered obscene.

But what is deemed obscene or indecent isn't the same across the board and has been modified over the years. Long before The China Post was launched, "legs" and "God-damned" had been regarded as obscene. Reporters were taught to use "lower limbs" and "G - d" instead. Nobody ever dared write "f*ck" in his story.

He had to write "four-letter word" or "unutterable words" in its place. And no one in those bad old days ever imagined "cheesecakes," attractive young women almost semi-nude, would adorn the front page of his newspaper one day in the not-too-distant future.

With the advent of TV, more cheesy pictures are shown, while almost all developed countries changed their obscenity laws to allow X-rated films aired either by terrestrial stations or on cable networks. Taiwan isn't that "advanced," and many people still frown on girls shaking their half-hidden breasts in TV commercials.

We believe the NCC has to discipline the "offending" networks, albeit we have to absolutely reject the claim that the breasty girls show is a piece of creative art. Though the display may be indecent in the eyes of many people, freedom of speech or expression has to be upheld. On the other hand, the regulatory authorities must express disapproval of what nearly all people consider vulgar at the very least. Of course, the NCC can have the indecency law amended, if it is convinced that Taiwan, as a developed country, has followed the worldwide sex-liberation trend.

But we regret that the NCC has no jurisdiction over print media, which run big display ads for aphrodisiacs, one of them being splashed on a half page of a Taipei afternoon paper. The Government Information Office or the Fair Trade Commission has to do something to stop such advertising. It seems neither of them is concerned enough to take any action. Well, it's only natural for government agencies to pass the buck around.

Date Posted: 4/28/2009