South Park China: Writers ‘apologise’ after Beijing censorship

Producers of American TV comedy South Park announced a mock apology in China after the show became almost unavailable in the country.

In a recent episode, Character Randy is imprisoned during a visit to China and then undergoes forced labor and Communist Party retraining.

Most South Park episodes and reviews are no longer available online in China.

"We welcome Chinese censorship of home and mind," he apologized. "Communist Lives Long!"

What happens to the episode?

In "Band in China", Randy Marsh travels to China to expand her marijuana business.

He is arrested and sent to prison, subject to forced labor and retraining.

In one scene, a security guard makes an electric shock while Randy stands in the rain.

Randy reads on the card as "a proud member of the Communist Party." "Party is more important than individual."

Then the guard shoots a prisoner on his head and is sent to the dense cells to start a conversation with Winnie Pooh and the piglet.

In 2017, people compared him to Chinese President Xi Jinping, so the image of Pooh Winnie was blocked in China.

"Some people said that Poo looked like a Chinese president, so we are now illegal in China," Piglet said.

Randy replies. "What kind of madhouse is this?"

How was your reaction in China?

Since the episode was released in the US last week, a search for "South Park" on Weibo, a Chinese social media site, displays "No related results."

The show has been removed from various video websites in China, including Billy Billy, iQiyi, Youku and le.com. Some searches show a brief introduction but cannot be played.

On Douban, a well-known movie review website in China, the search results show "No search results are displayed according to relevant laws, regulations and policies."

• What does mainland China hear about Hong Kong?
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In Baidu, a popular Chinese search engine, "South Park" still returns results, but most of the entries are old news. The results of the top rankings express criticism that this show has a negative impact on teenagers.

Some people avoided the ban by discussing the show about Weibo using "S23E02" (season 23, episode 2).

How did the South Park manufacturer react?

On Twitter, show authors Trey Parker and Matt Stone "Official apology for China".

"Like the NBA [National Basketball Association]"We welcome Chinese censorship to our homes and hearts," he said.

"We like money more than liberty and democracy. Xi doesn't look like Winnie the Pooh and Winnie."

"The Great Communist Party of China Live! Sugar Cane this Fall [a cereal crop] Abundant Harvest! Do we like China now? "

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The NBA Reference tweets support for Hong Kong protesters and then follows the reverse chase of US basketball coach Daryl Moray.

With Morey's tweet, his team, Houston Rockets, fetched the game from Chinese TV, and Chinese sponsors withdrew support.

The NBA is more than sorry for Mr. Morey's comment, said rocket player James Harden. "We apologize. We love China."

Mr. Moree later said: "Since then, there have been many opportunities to hear and consider different perspectives."

How much does China inspect?

Twitter and Facebook are not available to most users and Google is blocked, while in May Wikipedia announced that not all versions of the site were available.

The Internet in China operates in the same way as an intranet, where only information deemed appropriate is free to use.

Chinese newspapers and TVs are under the control of the Communist Party, and certain words and phrases are censored on Chinese social media.

Reports on Hong Kong protests are limited and people can ban discussions on sensitive issues.

• Hong Kong protests explained in 100 and 500 words

"My friend just received WeChat [a Chinese messaging platform] Chinese journalist Caroline Kan told the BBC in September.

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