China has launched a crackdown on scary children’s stories including the popular Japanese Death Note comic book series.

The Xinhua News Agency and China Daily newspaper reported authorities have been ordered to seize ‘illegal terrifying publications’ from vendors ahead of China’s Children’s Day on June 1.

Communist authorities are especially concerned about the influence of foreign books, movies and other pop culture on Chinese children.

One target in the latest crackdown is Death Note, a Japanese series of comic books about a notebook that can kill people whose names are written in it.

Wang Song, an official of the National Anti-piracy and Anti-pornography Working Committee, quoted by the China Daily said the story ‘misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit.

‘Death Note’ publications have been seized in Shanghai and areas across central and southern China.

Of course, Western children have been subjected to the same nonsense for many centuries. Anyone who has read Grimm’s Fairy Stories as a child will have been frightened out of their wits by the, mainly, female villains in the tales — the infamous wicked stepmothers,  the evil stepmother and stepsisters in Cinderella and the nefarious crone in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. These are, compared to Death Note, seriously scary stories.

The writer is willing to argue that Bambi, is for children, one of the most frightening movies ever made.
Source: Weird Asia News

Beijing has ordered officials to seize copies of books and comics considered terrifying publications from shops and street vendors. A particular target of the campaign is a popular Japanese comic book series, Death Note, which features a notebook that can kill people whose names are written in it.

Wang Song, an official of the National Anti-piracy and Anti-pornography Working Committee, was quoted by the China Daily as saying the story ‘misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit.’ The book, written by Takeshi Obata, originates in Japan and there are six volumes of the comic book in English available on Amazon. The word ‘comic’ here only applies to the art work. Not the content.

What would be made of the appalling stories of the Grimm Brothers which scared generations of European children witless is not known. But there is little doubt that such books can scare children. And have lasting effects.

Authorities are ordered to seize ‘illegal terrifying publications’ from vendors ahead of China’s Children’s Day.
Source: ABC News