A JAPANESE-FUNDED firm, Tianjin Koei Co, has been fined 479,314 yuan ($57,750) for producing a computer game "advocating militarism and fascism," People's Daily reported yesterday.
Revenue of 11,526.42 yuan ($1,389) earned from sales of the game was also confiscated, the report said.
The Tianjin authorities confiscated and destroyed all discs, including some which had been returned from Japan, said the newspaper.
A special task force concluded after investigation that the computer game, called "Governor's Decision," distorted the history of World War II and "glorified Japanese militarism and aggression against China."
The company was ordered to write a self-criticism and pledge never to make the same mistakes again, the newspaper said.
The video games sold on computer discs were manufactured between April 1 and July 2 this year without authorization by the Tianjin press and publication authorities, the report said.
The punishment came seven months after four Chinese staff at the company, who were hired last year to develop graphics after graduation from a local arts institute, refused to develop a computer game featuring battles between Japanese and Allied troops during World War II.
Local newspapers reported that the four employees were asked on May 13 to develop cartoons for the software using material provided by the Japanese company.
One of the employees, Liang Guangming, reportedly said the material contained Japanese warplanes, warships and images of Japanese officers, including the name of the notorious war criminal Hideki Tojo.
Hideki Tojo was sentenced to death by the Far East Military Tribunal soon after the War of Aggression against China (1937-45) ended.
About 35 million Chinese people were killed or wounded during the war, and economic losses reached $560 billion.
"The war criminals, who were responsible for the death of many Chinese people, were generals in the software programme, which is unacceptable to us," Liang reportedly said. "What embarrassed us most was the scene of them hailing Japanese troops after they won a battle."
Liang and his colleagues were reportedly threatened with dismissal by the Japanese manager of the company after their refusal to work on the game.
Guo Haijing, another of the four, reportedly said, "We would not give in since national dignity is more important."
The company's operations were halted between July 5 and September after the incident was exposed by the local press.
The company also has a branch in Beijing, which takes advantage of China's rich resources in software development to produce graphics and Chinese versions of software. Products are sold in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The "Governor's Decision" game offended some people in Shanghai when it was introduced to the city last year.
Three college students demanded an investigation into the import of the software in a letter to the local government. An investigation found the software was "misleading" and advocated militarism. (CD News)