No More Live Sex-changes On Chinese TV  Disturbing Lifestyle Other Regions Z-Show All 2007-08-24 06:18 BEIJING, CHINA: China has banned a blood-spattered genre of reality TV shows where patients undergo sex-change operations and cosmetic surgery live in front of mass audiences. The "exhibitionist" programmes serve the sole purpose of boosting viewer numbers and do not have a positive impact on society, the Beijing News on Friday (August 24th) cited authorities saying. The notice banning the programmes, issued Thursday (August 23rd) by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, ordered TV stations to halt new productions and immediately stop ongoing programmes. The notice said this was necessary in order to safeguard the credibility of the TV stations and ensure they maintain a benevolent impact on society, the paper reported. "It's really disgusting, just horrible," it quoted one person saying after watching a live show in which a patient had eyelid surgery, a common procedure in many parts of Asia. The in-your-face surgery programmes have proved popular in several parts of China. Typically the shows have featured a large studio audience watching surgery via a live TV feed to a clinic. In one celebrated show in 2004, a 32-year-old man underwent a sex-change operation as the cameras rolled. What gave the story a poignant touch was the fact that the patient, who had been born a hermaphrodite, had decided to become a male at the age of 10 - only to regret it 22 years later. It is estimated that one million Chinese undergo plastic surgery every year, according to state media reports. (AFP)