The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the national program watchdog, issued an announcement on Thursday curbing the live broadcast of a plastic surgery program in order to protect personal privacy and dignity. (Join the discussion in China.org.cn's forum)

An ongoing operation from the program (File photo)

Municipal and provincial television stations, including Chongqing Satellite TV Channel and Public Channel of Guangdong TV Station, broadcast live plastic surgeries mimicking American's reality show "I Want a Famous Face", which garners high audience ratings.

Many audiences were shocked by the bold shows that broadcast detailed surgery processes. Breast implants and eye-bag removals have been aired, according to a report from Friday's issue of the Beijing News. "The program is both nauseating and horrible," commented an online surfer when asked about the Guangdong TV station's transformation show.

Some experts believe it is inhumane to air the bloodied pictures when people are actually undergoing surgery. Experts feel that the programs pose threats to maintaining diversified beauty standards. The shows could encourage the audience to undertake cosmetic surgery.

He Yi, the operations supervisor from the Public Channel of Guangdong TV Station, said: "There are definitely misunderstandings regarding our program. Our shows were not totally going out live. We edited them somewhat."

File photos of the program

(China.org.cn by Wu Jin August 24, 2007)