Out of respect for China’s 21 million Muslims, the Party has banned all images and mention of pigs from Chinese television during this lunar new year season. As China welcomes the Year of the Pig on February 18th, the animal has been popping up in all types of Chinese advertising. But in a rare display of religious compassion by the Chinese government, as of this week, pigs are off limits in television ads. This week, the censorship police banned a Nestle ad with a humorous cartoon pig and the tagline, “Happy New Pig Year.” That slogan should have been banned earlier by the stupidity police. CCTV, China’s state television network believes the sight of pigs on television would offend the nation’s Muslim population, who view the pig as a filthy and objectionable animal. The network issued a statement this week saying, “China is a multiethnic country. To show respect for Islam, and upon guidance from higher levels of the government, CCTV will keep any pig images off the screen.” China’s a multiethnic country? In the same way that the U.S. Senate or the NHL is multiracial. The Wall Street Journal pointed out in a story this week that the pig ban came as a complete surprise, as the Chinese government seldom takes into account the concerns of minority groups when forming policy. Perhaps, Beijing’s new year’s resolution is to show more respect to the large and historically oppressed Muslim population of China. The pig is associated with fertility and virility and the next lunar year is considered to be the best baby-making year in the lunar cycle. Hopefully, the television pig ban will not put a damper on all the porking expected to go down in the year to come.

•Sydney Morning Herald: Year of the Bleep

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