Banned! 8 things you won't find in China

China is gradually relaxing controls in many areas of life but Beijing keeps a tight grip on technology and access to media. These eight items are still off limits.

Foreign films

banned china foreign films

Chinese regulators allow only 34 foreign films to be shown in theaters each year, severely limiting access to the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

Approved films still face the heavy hand of government censors, who cut anything the Communist Party considers offensive or subversive.

Chinese audiences love the slimmed-down foreign films, and Hollywood is eager for regulators to expand their quota.

Despite the commercial advantage it gives them, Chinese filmmakers are likely to continue to bump heads with Beijing over censorship. China heaped praise on Taiwan-born director Ang Lee when he won the Academy Award for Best Director in 2005. His film, Brokeback Mountain, was never shown in China.

  @CRrileyCNN - Last updated January 30 2015 01:29 PM ET

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