China's official censorship guidelines technically prohibit movies that "promote superstition." The conservative country's regulators have, int he past, used this reasoning to ban films that feature ghosts or supernatural beings in a semi-realistic way. Last year, the gothic horror-romance Crimson Peak was not released in China due to the movie taking place in a haunted house filled with ghosts. A more popular incident that a lot of people were aware of was in 2006; Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's chest was banned from the country, due to its depictions of ghosts as well as other supernatural things.
As of July 14th, 2016, Sony says no decision has been made yet on whether Ghostbusters will be allowed to be released in China. Sony pictures has been made aware of China's outlook on movies involving superstitious beliefs, which led them to attempt to change the Chinese translation of the film's name from "Ghost Catcher Dare Die Team" to "Super Power Dare Die Team" in order to downplay the paranormal feel that the word "ghost" gives off.
I personally believe that the reason ghosts are a cultural taboo in China is because of their own fear of the paranormal. I feel that with the necessary critical thinking and research, they will feel comfortable lifting the ban and letting the people of China enjoy movies of all kinds.
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/will-ghostbusters-get-banned-in-china-20160714
http://www.vice.com/read/ghostbusters-reboot-fears-possible-ban-in-china-vgtrn
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