MCLC: state proposal to push reading

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Anne Henochowicz <anne at chinadigitaltimes.net>
Subject: state proposal to push reading
***********************************************************

Source: China Real Time, WSJ (8/9/13):
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/08/09/legal-push-for-little-read-bo
oks/

Legal Push for Little-Read Books
By Lilian Lin 

Roughly a month after passing a law requiring adults to regularly visit
their elderly parents, Chinese policy makers are considering legislation
to encourage another activity the country’s people have neglected: reading.

The General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and
Television announced that it had drawn up
<http://www.gapp.gov.cn/news/1656/153888.shtml> the first draft of a new
Regulation on Public Reading Promotion, which it planned to submit to the
country’s cabinet, the State Council, for approval by the end of the year.

The regulation, which has been in development since the country’s annual
legislative conclave in March, is motivated by new research showing
Chinese people reading books at a relatively low rate despite the country
being one of the world’s most prolific book producers.

Chinese people between the ages of 18 and 70 read 6.7 books on average
last year, including paper books and e-books, an increase of roughly one
book per year compared with 2011, according to a national public reading
survey 
<http://cips.chinapublish.com.cn/kybm/cbyjs/cgzs/201304/t20130419_140027.ht
ml> conducted by the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Press and
Publication.

American readers consumed an average of 15 books per year in 2012,
according to a survey by Pew
<http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/12/27/e-book-reading-jumps-print-boo
k-reading-declines/>. Three-quarters of Americans read at least one book
last year, Pew found, which means that Americans read 10.5 books on
average in 2012 when nonreaders are factored in.

China publishes more than 400,000 different book titles
<http://cips.chinapublish.com.cn/xgbd/201307/t20130726_143587.html> last
year — a 14.4% increase from 2011 — according to official statistics.

Such a low reading rate is disturbing to leaders in a country that once
chose its officials according to how well-read they were. Yet social-media
users haven’t taken kindly to the announcement of the law, details of
which have yet to be released.

“I totally agree with promoting reading, but doing it by law is totally
crap and useless <http://weibo.com/1802732521/A3sjfARe2?mod=weibotime>,”
wrote one user of Sina Corp.’s popular Weibo microblogging service.

“Will people get sentenced for not reading enough
<http://weibo.com/1777716255/A3kC2hUCn>?” asked another.

Even the Communist Party’s mouthpiece newspaper was skeptical about
legislating better reading habits, though it defended the spirit of the
proposed regulation.

“No matter whether (the law) can really improve the reading rate, it is
true that more and more Chinese don’t read
<http://weibo.com/2803301701/A3om9lx9B>,” People’s Daily said in on its
verified Weibo feed.

Given China’s long history of valuing scholarly pursuits, it isn’t clear
why Chinese people have such a weak appetite for the written word, though
some say it is precisely the country’s obsession with education – and
stiff competition on the college entrance exams — that’s to blame.

“To score high in exams, we are forced to read something outdated and
valueless,” said Kang Kai, editor of CS-BOOKY, a Beijing-based publishing
company. “The painful experience leaves a negative impression on people’s
mind and later leads to the popular idea that ‘reading is useless.’”

Others point to censorship. The publishing regulator maintains strict
control over the issuance of book numbers, which are required for a book
to be published or sold legally, denying them to books it deems
inappropriate. Topics that allude to violence, religion, sex and politics
are strictly controlled. Some publishers say this year, novels about
Chinese officialdom – an immensely popular genre widely embraced by
Chinese readers in recent years – have been unable to get book numbers.

“It’s not that Chinese don’t like to read,” said Wang Xiaodong, president
of China Pioneer Culture & Media Co., whose company has many published
books that later were adapted into films and dramas, including “The
Flowers of War.” “It’s that Chinese don’t like to read what the government
publishes.”
The wide availability of pirated books online is another problem,
according Mr. Wang. “It will be more meaningful for the government to try
harder to curb online piracy and protect writer’s rights,” he said.

Finally, there are the bad memories many Chinese have of the last time
Beijing tried to force its citizens to read.

“It is fine to recommend good books to the public, but compelling people
to read may lead to mental oppression,” said Mr. Kang, referring to the
Cultural Revolution when the public was commanded to read works by Mao
Zedong.

– Lilian Lin. Follow her on Twitter @LilianLinyigu
<http://twitter.com/LilianLinyigu>