An Audited Episode on Disney + in Hong Kong – Release

Launched in the region in mid-November, the streaming site offers hundreds of episodes of Matt Groning’s famous series. But one of them is missing, where there is a clear reference to the 1989 repression.

The most famous American animated family came to China, which may have made Beijing proud. Except for episode 12 of Season 16 of their adventures, the Simpsons have a “bad” idea of ​​going to Tiananmen Square. In the cartoon, a sign paradoxically states the following: “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened”. Note on Omarda, who rules China, around the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s most famous square.

This episode cannot be viewed in Hong Kong (legally). It is not on the American online video site Disney +, which launched in the financial metropolis in mid-November. Quickly seen by attentive viewers, the absence of this episode raises fears that censorship will become as routine in Hong Kong as it is in practice in neighboring China.

Audit or self-audit

It is not yet clear whether Disney + pulled the episode on its own initiative or the authorities who ordered it to do so. Content that mocks China in particular still exists on other streaming sites in Hong Kong. When asked by the AFP, neither the American entertainment company nor the Hong Kong government declined to comment.

Hong Kong has long enjoyed significant artistic and political freedoms off the mainland. But to end the massive pro-democracy protests that rocked the region in 2019, Beijing imposed a national security law last year that outlawed most opposition. In June, the Hong Kong government gave the audit committee the power to ban any film that could create an attack on national security.

Last week, Beijing-appointed CEO Gary Lam promised “Fill in the gaps progressively” Adoption of rules and new rules “Fake news”. His comments reinforced fears that the Internet in Hong Kong could be subjected to the same censorship as in China, where major international social networks, such as Google and many other Western media outlets, were blocked by the “big wall. Electronics” set up by auditors. Of the regime.