Hong Kong’s main airline, Cathay Pacific, has issued an apology and removed an episode of the American animated comedy Family Guy that made reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown from its in-flight entertainment system.
Following a complaint from a travel website, the airline took down the first season episode of the well-liked and controversial show Death Has a Shadow.
In a seven-second scene in the episode, Peter Griffin, the main character, is seen standing next to a demonstrator in front of a line of tanks in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The picture is modeled by the famous Tank Man image, which depicts a Chinese citizen who has not been recognized battling People’s Liberation Army tanks during the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators on June 4, 1989.
Thirty-five years later, the subject is still very sensitive in China, and there is strict censorship on its discussion.
In a statement to NBC News, Cathay Pacific acknowledged the situation and expressed its genuine regret to the impacted passengers. We stress that the program’s content does not reflect Cathay Pacific’s position, and we have made arrangements to have it taken down as soon as possible.
As of Wednesday, the episode was no longer accessible on Cathay Pacific’s entertainment website.
The airline said that a third-party provider was in charge of managing its in-flight entertainment content and that it had regularly given them explicit instructions to make sure the suggested material complied with our corporate standards.
According to the airline, we have immediately alerted the service provider to the gravity of the situation and given them instructions to look into the cause in detail and improve oversight to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
A reader claimed that the episode might be in violation of the National Security Law, according to PacknGo.hk, an online portal that specializes in travel-related services.
According to the website, Cathay Pacific allowed the politically sensitive film to promote subversive views and failed to adequately regulate the system.
According to the reader, they have brought the issue to the attention of the Hong Kong Police Force’s National Security Department.
A candlelight vigil has been conducted annually in honor of the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown for decades in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was promised civil rights would be maintained for 50 years when it returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. What was sometimes referred to as the only public remembrance of the events on Chinese soil drew tens of thousands of attendees.
However, since 2020, anyone trying to plan or participate in the Tiananmen vigils has been prosecuted as part of a government crackdown on dissent after massive pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked the global financial center for months in 2019.
A national security law enforced by Beijing in 2020 and local national security legislation unanimously passed by Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature in March have virtually suppressed public discourse over the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Streaming services like Disney+ have also been impacted by the problem; their Hong Kong version of The Simpsons does not have episodes that discuss the crackdown in Tiananmen Square and claims of forced labor. It’s unclear if the episodes were taken down voluntarily, and Disney has previously refused to comment on their removal.
When it was published this year, the Amazon Prime series Expats, which was partially shot in Hong Kong and included scenes of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014, was similarly restricted in China.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!