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Disney Cuts "Simpsons" Episode That Mentions Forced Labor Camps From Chinese Platform
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Ubiquitous
Feb 7, 2023, 7:32:09 AM2/7/23
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Disney, ever eager to avoid any confrontation with the Chinese Communist
government, cut an episode of The Simpsons from Disney Plus streaming
platform in Hong Kong that referenced “forced labor camps” in China.
The 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.
Cutting the episode had “more to do with the company’s ties, current and
future, in mainland China,” Kenny Ng, associate professor at the Academy of
Film at Hong Kong Baptist University, said, adding, “It could be strategic to
eliminate any China-offending episodes.”
Yet the Hong Kong government, responding to the situation, stated that its
recent film censorship regime, enacted in 2021 to prevent films from posing a
risk to national security, “does not apply to streaming services,” Financial
Times reported.
Hong Kong, formerly a British colony, was given to China in 1997.
In October 2019, speaking at the WSJ Tech Live conference on Tuesday, Disney
CEO Bob Iger admitted that Disney would stay silent regarding the Hong Kong
pro-democracy protests.
“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.”
Disney Company opened its $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort in 2016. “Our
dream comes true,” Iger boasted 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.”
--
Let's go Brandon!
government, cut an episode of The Simpsons from Disney Plus streaming
platform in Hong Kong that referenced “forced labor camps” in China.
The 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.
Cutting the episode had “more to do with the company’s ties, current and
future, in mainland China,” Kenny Ng, associate professor at the Academy of
Film at Hong Kong Baptist University, said, adding, “It could be strategic to
eliminate any China-offending episodes.”
Yet the Hong Kong government, responding to the situation, stated that its
recent film censorship regime, enacted in 2021 to prevent films from posing a
risk to national security, “does not apply to streaming services,” Financial
Times reported.
Hong Kong, formerly a British colony, was given to China in 1997.
In October 2019, speaking at the WSJ Tech Live conference on Tuesday, Disney
CEO Bob Iger admitted that Disney would stay silent regarding the Hong Kong
pro-democracy protests.
“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.”
Disney Company opened its $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort in 2016. “Our
dream comes true,” Iger boasted 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.”
--
Let's go Brandon!
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