CHINESE CELEBS TAINTED BY SCANDAL WILL LOSE THEIR JOBS

The recent arrests of several Chinese film and TV celebrities for drug possession and hiring prostitutes has triggered a ban on all of their work and a warning to others in the entertainment industry that they too could face similar punishment. "Celebrities who break the law should not be invited to appear in programs, and transmission of their works should be suspended," the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said in a statement. "Recent cases involving stars using drugs or visiting prostitutes have harmed the image of the entertainment industry and set a bad example for young people," the agency, known as SARF, said. The decree makes official an informal crackdown by the Beijing Trade Association for Performance, which announced last month that celebrities charged with drug abuse or prostitution charges will not be employed in the entertainment industry.