Posted in: Disney+, Fox, streaming, TV | Tagged: china, disney, Goo Goo Gai Pan, streaming, the simpsons

The Simpsons: Disney+ Hong Kong Launch Missing "Tiananmen Square" Ep?

Published Sat, 27 Nov 2021 10:31:11 -0600

While it's not the first time that "The Mouse" has found itself embroiled in some kind of controversy involving China and the Chinese government. You need to look no further than the issues raised about some of the filming locations for Mulan, The Walt Disney Company's perceived willingness to bend to government censors, and even the accusation that political imagery was used in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Well, the next round of pushback began on Saturday with news that one episode of The Simpsons, in particular, did not make the cut when Disney+ recently launched in Hong Kong as the region continues to find itself under Chinese government control (as reported by the Hong Kong Free Press).

In S16E12 "Goo Goo Gai Pan," there are two direct references made to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. In one scene, a direct correlation is made with the famous "Tank Man" photo where a single protestor bravely walked towards a tank, stopping it in its tracks. As you can see from the screencap below, the other didn't require a lot to interpret, showing a plaque that read, "Tien An Men Square: On this site, in 1989, nothing happened" in reference to the Chinese government's attempts over the years to erase the tragedy from the history books.

simpsons — The Simpsons (Image: Screencap)

Here's a look back at the tweet from the Hong Kong Free Press from earlier today reporting that the episode was not available on the streaming service:

Episode 12 of Season 16 of The Simpsons is missing from the newly-launched Disney+ streaming platform in Hong Kong. The episode references Chairman Mao and the Tiananmen Massacre. HKFP has reached out to Disney for comment. pic.twitter.com/ecXXiwae70

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) November 27, 2021

In 1989, a group of peaceful Chinese university student protestors called for an end to government corruption and a move towards democratic reforms. But the peaceful protest would be met by tanks from the People's Liberation Army, ordered by then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to shut down the protest by any means necessary, resulting in a death toll that's estimated to be in the thousands (though no official death toll was ever taken). In June 2020, Hong Kong's national security law was passed into action, shutting down what used to be annual commemorations of the massacre by Honk Kong residents as well as museums and exhibits honoring the fallen, as efforts by the Chinese government to suppress any public recognition of that dark mark on recent world history.

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