China should eradicate online games that distort history – China National Radio

People play online games at an internet cafe in Fuyang, Anhui province, China August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

SHANGHAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Chinese regulators should step up verification of online gambling and have “zero tolerance” for those who distort history, state broadcaster China National Radio (CNR) said in a commentary on its report. website.

The remarks – the latest in a series of critical articles in Chinese state media – are likely to heighten fears that the video game industry is next to face regulatory action from national authorities. .

An article that went viral this month called online games “spiritual opiate”, adding that children were becoming addicted and urging greater restraint. It sent shares of Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) and other gaming companies skidding.

Tencent announced shortly after that it was introducing new limits on how much time children spend on “Honor of Kings”, its most popular game.

A separate article said tax breaks for industry should be scrapped.

CNR said games that distort history could mislead young people and cited an example of a game in which Yue Fei, a Chinese general and national hero of the Song Dynasty, was portrayed as a capitulator.

Chinese regulators have cracked down on a range of sectors from property to technology to tutoring, tearing up regulatory standards to promote socialist values ​​and curb what critics have called reckless capitalist expansion.

Reporting by Samuel Shen and Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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