Giant size porn film broadcast in China

Screening in public square 'was mistake'.

by Jennie Kermode

Visitors to Jilin railway station got a shock today when a porn film was beamed onto the side of a building in the square beside it. The film - The Forbidden Legend: Sex And Chopsticks - was made in Hong Kong and has lived up to its name by being banned in the mainland. The book on which is is based is also banned and has continued to circulate among literature enthusiasts, but not quite on this scale.

The incident is understood to have occurred while technician Yuan Mou was repairing the projection equipment. When contacted by the company that owns the screen, he made his excuses and left, but police are said to be investigating.

Chinese censors may be particularly unhappy about this porn film because it also deals with the subject of corruption. They have been gradually relaxing their attitude to arthouse films, with this year's Beijing Gay and Lesbian Film Festival the first to take place without interference, but controls over films deemed pornographic remain firm, with thousands of Chinese mainlanders flocking to Hong Kong every year to sample forbidden cinematic pleasures.

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