The Indonesian government has demanded all instant messaging apps to remove same-sex emoticons or face a ban in the country.
近日，印度尼西亚政府要求所有即时通讯应用移除同性恋相关的表情符号，否则将被禁用。
The emojis — which are available on the popular apps LINE and Whatsapp as well as Facebook and Twitter — depict same-sex couples holding hands and the rainbow flag, commonly used to symbolise the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
在Line、WhatsApp、Facebook、Twitter等深受欢迎的应用程序中，用户都可以使用那些描述同性夫妇手牵着手、彩虹旗、通常用来表示女同性恋，男同性恋，双性恋和变性者（LGBT）社区的emoji表情。
"Such contents are not allowed in Indonesia based on our cultural law and the religious norms and the operators must respect that," Ismail Cawidu, spokesman for the communication and information ministry, said Friday.
周五，该国信息通讯部发言人伊斯梅尔·卡维杜表示，该国禁用同性恋表情符号是基于其文化法律和宗教规范，经营者必须尊重这些。

He said of particular concern was that the colourful emojis and stickers could appeal to children. "Those things might be considered normal in some Western countries, while in Indonesia it's practically impossible," he said.
他表示：“尤其需要注意的是，色彩丰富的emojis很容易吸引孩子。一些西方国家或许认为这些东西很正常，但在印尼几乎是不可能的。”
Mr Cawidu said the ministry had contacted all companies that used such content, including Twitter and Facebook, and failure to comply with the request to remove the emojis could lead to the apps being banned in Indonesia.
卡维杜说，通讯和信息部已经联络Twitter、Facebook和其他可以在应用中使用这些emojis的公司，如果他们不按要求移除此类内容，很可能被印尼禁用。
LINE Indonesia has already removed its gay emojis from online stores and issued an apology.
目前印尼版Line已经从在线商店里删除了同性恋emojis，甚至还发布了道歉声明。
While homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, the topic remains a controversial subject.
虽然同性恋在这个以穆斯林为主的国家不是非法，但仍颇具争议。