Super Voice Girls are silenced

There's not much to be said for the current Chinese regime, but you have to grudgingly admit that banning most elements of Pop Idol from programmes like Super Voice Girls might be a good idea:

The curbs include a ban on public voting via the internet, telephone or by text messages.

The rules also say participants must be healthy and mature, while hosts of the reality TV programmes should not flirt with each other or be nasty.

There's also a blanket ban on Sharon Osbourne, which was introduced in the late 1990s.