They're actually targeting a specific category (shanzhai diploma) of scam degrees, not legitimate liberal arts degrees.

The majority of the degrees in question are not Art or History, but vaguely sciencey sounding ones like "Life Science" which are designed to bait the Math/Science/Technology oriented Chinese public into paying for them.

This is an anti-fraud effort not a cultural one. The free market doesn't allow for defrauding people.

In general, it's best not to pontificate about a problem specific to a culture that is unknown to you.