Disney cut an episode for “Disney’s Chinese Communist Party,” in an effort to avoid confrontation. The SimpsonsThe Disney Plus streaming platform for Hong Kong, which is referenced “forced labor camps”China
Episode titled “One Angry Lisa,” aired in October 2022 and showed the instructor of Marge Simpson’s virtual bike class state, “Behold the wonders of China. Bitcoin mines, forced labor camps where children make smartphones.” Another episode of the show that broadcast in 2005 mentioned the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and the Chinese government’s efforts to suppress knowledge of it; it was cut in 2021.
The episode was cut “more to do with the company’s ties, current and future, in mainland China,”Kenny Ng is an associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Academy of Film. “It could be strategic to eliminate any China-offending episodes.”
The Hong Kong government responded to this situation by stating that the recent film censorship system, which was enacted 2021 in order to stop films from posing threats to national security, had been put into place. “does not apply to streaming services,” Financial Times reported.
Hong Kong was a British colony. It was handed over to China in 1997.
At Tuesday’s WSJ Tech Live Conference, Bob Iger, Disney CEO and Chairman of the Board admitted in October 2019 that Disney would not comment on the Hong Kong protests for democracy.
“What we learned in the last week — we’ve learned how complicated this is,” Iger said, as reported by Bloomberg. “The biggest learning from that is that caution is imperative. To take a position that could harm our company in some form would be a big mistake. I just don’t believe it’s something we should engage in in a public manner.”
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) blasted Iger, snapping, “‘Sell your soul to save your profits’ is going to be a helluva plot line for ‘Frozen 2.’ There are about a million Uyghurs in Chinese communist prisons who aren’t going to be visiting the Magic Kingdom anytime soon.”
In 2016, the $5.5-billion Shanghai Disney Resort was opened by Disney Company. “Our dream comes true,”Iger exclaimed in Mandarin.
Liu Yifei, the star of Disney’s live-action “Mulan,” triggered an anti-Mulan boycott after she expressed support for the Hong Kong police force putting down the pro-democracy protests, saying on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”
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