Starr Gagged!

Get your mind out of the gutter, Ken Starr. That’s the official word from Beijing. China’s Office Against Pornography and Illicit Publications on Wednesday banned Chinese-language versions of the independent counsel’s report. Copies of the “illicit publication” will be removed from bookstore shelves in order to prevent its salacious details from corrupting China’s public morals — and out of concern not to undermine Beijing’s relationship with the White House.

But regardless of the official ban, at least a dozen publishing houses are cranking out translated copies, which are selling like scallion buns on the street. Chinese authorities may find it hard to suppress that entrepreneurial spirit, but the ban could be just the smoking gun Dan Burton needs to prove collusion between Beijing and the Clinton White House.