Actors should stick with upright moral judgment for public good

Illustration: Hang Dachuan/Global Times

Recently, some netizens suggested that Chinese actor and director Xu Zheng should not be allowed to participate in a youth program on Zhejiang TV due to his "unethical behavior." However, after an investigation, the Zhejiang TV group said that Xu was not involved in any illegal behavior and thus had been approved to join the program. Many netizens applaud the Zhejiang TV's decision for being truthful and based on facts, rather than being easily swayed by rumor or a small numbers of netizens.

The netizens claimed that Xu had "profited off his fans by controlling stocks sold to them, was involved in many royalty disputes and pyramid schemes, as well as has had affairs," so they questioned his morals and worried that his "crooked" image might mislead young people.

Following these allegations, the Zhejiang TV made a thorough investigation, and finally verified that Xu was not involved in the illegal pyramid case, and the program crew has won the administration's approval to invite Xu to the show. 

The country has rules to guide celebrities in the show business. In early 2021, the performance industry's regulatory body issued the Self-Discipline and Management Measures for Performing Artists in the Performing Industry. The measures clearly stipulates that entertainers should abide by professional norms and social codes of conduct, while also listing the behavior to avoid, such as lip-­synching, ­infidelity, insulting national heroes, instigating others to disrupt social order and drunk driving. Some of the behavior on the "negative list" concern morality, while others are crimes. Actors who violate these rules will be banned from performing in the industry, with times ranging from one year to life. 

During the past few years, there have been some entertainers who have been labeled as "unethical actors" for their immoral or illegal behavior such as taking drugs, seeking prostitution, getting a surrogate, plagiarism, and infidelity.

The negative impact on society of their misbehavior was huge as they all had large fan bases.

According to the measure, punishment and review of their comeback are supervised by the ethics supervision committee, an ad hoc department under the China Association of Performing Arts. 

Less than one-third of the committee members are representatives from the performing arts industry. Additionally, each appraisal is made by polling the opinions of people from different walks of life in order to be objective and fair. 

It is up to the administration to make the decision based on evidence and legal procedures.

As being involved in unethical or illegal behavior could do huge damage to the people's career in the show business, performers who have not been found to be guilty of "unethical" behavior through an investigation have every right to safeguard their right to work and clarify rumors.

As China has planned to cultivate a large number of artists and cultural talents, Hao Rong, president of the Central Academy of Drama, said young actors should pay attention to enhancing both their moral standard and artistic skills. 

Without lofty morality and solid professional skills, their fame may only be a transient "sparkle" that will quickly die away.

It is understandable that netizens would worry that Xu's rumored "unethical behavior" might mislead young people, especially minors. 

This shows that the public has increased their awareness of entertainers' moral behavior instead of only favoring their artistic shows. 

Obviously, this serves as the most effective deterrence for the actors as they must keep an eye on their behavior at all times and set good examples for the audiences for public good.