Simpsons episode that references China labour camps axed in Hong Kong
Disney bows before Beijing: Simpsons episode that references ‘forced labour camps where children make smartphones’ is axed from streaming service in Hong Kong
- The ‘One Angry Lisa’ episode is not available to stream on Disney+ in Hong Kong
- Previously removed an episode referencing 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown
Disney has cut an episode from The Simpsons that contains a reference to ‘forced labour camps’ in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong.
The episode two of season 34, ‘One Angry Lisa’, which first aired in October on television, is not available on the US company’s Disney Plus streaming service in Hong Kong, according to a check by Reuters.
The Financial Times first reported the absence of the episode, which is produced by the 20th Television Animation, which is owned by Disney.
It has not been established when it was removed from the Hong Kong service.
In the episode, the character Marge Simpson is shown images of China’s Great Wall during an exercise class as her instructor says: ‘Behold the wonders of China: bitcoin mines, forced labour camps where children make smartphones.’
Disney has cut an episode from The Simpsons that contains a reference to ‘forced labour camps’ in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong
The episode ‘One Angry Lisa’, which first aired in October on television, is not available on the US company’s Disney Plus streaming service in Hong Kong
China denies any suggestion that forced labour occurs there.
Rights groups and Western governments have long accused Beijing of abuses against members of the mainly Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in the western region of Xinjiang, including the use of forced labour in internment camps.
A UN report last year said Beijing had committed ‘serious human right violations’ that could constitute ‘crimes against humanity’.
In 2021, Disney removed an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ that made a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown when it first launched its Disney Plus service in Hong Kong.
The episode featured a visit to the square, which displayed a large sign saying ‘on this site, in 1989, nothing happened’.
Homer Simpson also called Chairman Mao a ‘little angel’ who killed millions.
The former British colony of Hong Kong has special freedoms under a ‘one country, two systems’ formula agreed when it was handed back to China in 1997, but Hong Kong democracy campaigners say Beijing has over the years been eroding those freedoms. Beijing and Hong Kong’s government deny this.
In 2021, Hong Kong’s legislature passed a film censorship law to ‘safeguard national security’ but officials said at the time that the law did not apply to streaming services.
An episode of The Simpsons which features a joke about Tiananmen Square went missing from Disney+ in Hong Kong in 2021
In the episode, the character Marge Simpson is shown images of China’s Great Wall during an exercise class
In 2021, Disney removed an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ that made a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square. Pictured here is the Times Square Disney store
The Simpsons is now in its 34th season with 740 episodes released (file image)
The Hong Kong government said the film censorship law was aimed at content deemed to ‘endorse, support, glorify, encourage and incite activities that might endanger national security’.
The Simpsons is now in its 34th season with 740 episodes released.
‘Stark Raving Dad’, where Homer is committed to a mental institution, is the only episode that has been banned from airing and streaming worldwide on Disney Plus.
Disney Plus has rapidly advanced since its launch in November 2019, reaching 14.4 million paid subscribers in the last quarter and even overtaking its rival Netflix in August.
MailOnline has contacted Disney+ for comment.
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