South Park, Games Company Swept Up In China Censorship Fury
Oct 8, 2019, 8:21 AM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:01 pm
TV show “South Park” and a major video game studio are the latest businesses to get swept into a controversy over how to handle China’s censorship efforts.
Video games maker Activision Blizzard said Tuesday it kicked a Hong Kong esports pro out of a tournament and seized his prize money after he voiced support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest movement.
Chinese video streaming sites apparently scrubbed all episodes of South Park after an episode about U.S. businesses kowtowing to Beijing.
Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone issued a faux apology, saying: “Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy.”
Watch the full episode – https://t.co/oktKSJdI9i@THR article – https://t.co/nXrtmnwCJB pic.twitter.com/Xj5a1yE2eL
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 7, 2019
They were referring to a rapidly deleted tweet by the Houston Rockets general manager supporting the Hong Kong protests that sparked a Chinese backlash.