An episode of the cartoon The Simpsons referring to “forced labor camps” in China cannot be found on Disney+’s service in Hong Kong, where artistic production is increasingly censored.
Hong Kong once boasted significant artistic and cultural freedoms compared to mainland China of which it is a special administrative region.
But since the 2019 protests, authorities have cracked down on dissent in the financial hub, including stepping up censorship of films.
The second episode of the 34e season of the American cartoon included the line: “Contemplate the wonders of China. Bitcoin mines, forced labor camps where kids make smart phones, and romance.”
The episode One Angry Lisawhich first aired on the platform last October, could not be viewed on Disney+ using a connection in Hong Kong but is available elsewhere, AFP confirmed.
It’s the second time in three years that the Hong Kong version of the streaming service has dropped an episode of The Simpsons satirizing China.
The previously censored episode showed The Simpsons visiting Beijing’s Tiananmen Square — the site of the deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters — and finding a sign there that reads: “At this site, in 1989, nothing happened. happened “.
Contacted by AFP, the Hong Kong government and Disney did not immediately comment.
Censorship Act
In 2021, Hong Kong passed censorship laws banning shows that might violate a sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on the city.
Since then, directors have had to cut parts of their films, while other productions have been banned from broadcasting.
A Taiwanese documentary about female migrant workers was removed from the lineup of a Hong Kong film festival in October after its producers refused to remove a scene depicting a protest.
In the same month, a screening of the Batman franchise film “The Dark Knight” was also canceled after censors deemed “the level of violence to be inappropriate” and denied that the decision was politically motivated.
The censorship law does not cover streaming services, but authorities have warned that video-on-demand platforms are nonetheless subject to the national security law which concerns crimes of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
In recent years, Hollywood has been accused of pandering to China’s censorship regime to profit from this multi-billion dollar market.
In 2020, Disney was criticized for filming the new version of Mulan in the Xinjiang region, with local government agencies credited in the credits.
Beijing has long denied accusations of torture and forced labor in Xinjiang, but a recent United Nations report found the claims credible.
Human rights groups say more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being held in what the US State Department and others say amounts to genocide.