When Chinese actress Vicky Zhao wore a dress with the pattern of an old Japanese war flag, her fashion sense nearly ended her career. The soap opera star was forced to tearfully apologize to the public for her wardrobe malfunction -- otherwise her career might have been destroyed. "I was so naive," she said. The garment was a deep insult to Chinese nationalists and the many victims of Japanese atrocities during World War II.

Now, two of her colleagues have come under the scope of the anti-Japanese firebrands: China's most famous actress, Ziyi Zhang, and diva Gong Li. Together with Michelle Yeoh, a Malaysian of Chinese descent, they are staring in the leading roles in the Hollywood blockbuster "Memoirs of a Geisha."

The drama, based on the best-selling novel by American author Arthur Golden, depicts, in gorgeous Technicolor detail, the everyday traditions of the Kimono-wearing entertainers in the Japan of the 1930s -- a life of cabals, art and courtesanship. But the idea of Chinese women submitting to the lust or passion of Japanese men, even if only on screen, is enough to bring the blood of many modern Chinese to a boil.

For weeks now, Chinese blogs and Internet forums have been filled with rants about how the actresses have injured China's national pride. Supporters of the film are very much in the minority. "This has been a severe loss of face for us," one poster complained. "How could Zhang let a Japanese man touch her?" another asked angrily, despite the fact the film includes no such scene. "Zhang and Gong have brought shame to the Chinese," railed another.

Last week, Chinese censors banned the screening of the Steven Spielberg-produced movie, which had previously been cleared to open on Feb. 9. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television claims that the film is too "complicated and sensitive" for the Chinese public. If it opened in cinemas, they warned, it could spark anti-Japanese tensions . When the decision became public, the actresses were busy in a Shanghai studio dubbing the Chinese version of the film from the original bad English. They immediately ceased their work and have been silent since.

The ban, however, only applies to theater screenings of "Geisha." DVD stores in Beijing quickly began selling pirated copies in English for about €1 per copy. "It's been sold out for days now," says one dealer, who sells his wares in the state-owned "Friendship Stores" in Beijing's embassy district. "I have no idea what it is about this film that people like so much."

The popular underground sales of the film suggest that the official censors' argument is just a pretext for the real reason. They haven't banned the film out of fear of anti-Japan protests. The real reasoning behind the decision to shut "Geisha" out of the Chinese market is that the conservative censors themselves felt their national honor had been damaged -- and they wanted to teach their beautiful Hollywood exports  that they shouldn't just be thinking about money and fame, but also their homeland. But it also gave the censors the opportunities to thumb their noses at the Japanese. The Chinese allege the Japanese have few regrets about the past atrocities they committed against them, and the message to Tokyo through this decision was clear: "We're not interested in your culture."

Cracking down on free speech

The decision also fits in the with current trend in China. Even as China's economy successfully develops into a crude form of capitalism, the Communist Party is desperately attempting to defend its party line on the cultural front and to block any corrupting ideas.

In that vein, the propagandists have also banned the Oscar-favorite "Brokeback Mountain" about two gay cowboys. Apparently an open dialogue about homosexuality is too unpalatable for the functionaries of the new China.

Out of fear that easing the reins on freedom of opinion could endanger their own hold on power, the Communist Party is ramping up the pressure on other media as well. The party recently banned the four-page "Freezing Point" supplement that appeared in China Youth Daily, the official organ of the Communist Youth Association.  The accusation: "Freezing Point" had twisted historical facts, damaged news propaganda discipline and caused grievious harm to the national feelings of the Chinese people."

The journalists had dared to publish an article that didn't mesh with the government's official propaganda line. An historian had criticized the government's official history of the foreign occupation during the last century. Another article challenged the belief Beijing's leadership has been trying to peddle that the people of secessionist Taiwan, are longingly waiting for reunification with mainland China. The headline: "A Taiwan you may not know."

There is no other country in the world with as many journalists sitting behind bars as China -- including bloggers and other Internet users who dared to criticize officials, betrayed the very loosely defined "state secrets" or endangered the country's "social stability."