(Washington Post) Glamorous models will no longer stand alluringly beside shiny cars at this year's auto show in Shanghai, while cleavage has been cut from a popular historical soap opera. China's Communist government is taking a new, more austere line, to howls of protest from many ordinary people.
Beautiful women presenting flashy cars had become the iconic image of Shanghai's popular auto show, but organizers have told participants that models would no longer be allowed to show off the cars when the event next takes place in April, local media reported on Friday.
The measure followed hot on the heels of a widely derided decision to abruptly yank a popular Chinese historical drama, "The Empress of China," off television screens earlier this month. The show returned to television days later – with shots reedited to cut out cleavage and focus in more closely on actresses' faces.