<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/04/cathay-pacific-apologises-over-inflight-family-guy-episode-with-tiananmen-square-scene>
"Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, has apologised over the
inclusion of a
Family Guy episode in its inflight entertainment system that
features a scene depicting Tiananmen Square.
The airline told the
South China Morning Post it had apologised to customers
after a complaint was raised on social media that the episode might breach Hong
Kong’s national security laws.
“We emphasise that the programme’s content does not represent Cathay Pacific’s
standpoint and have immediately arranged to have the programme removed as soon
as possible,” a spokesperson for the carrier told the outlet.
The US animated comedy series is known for pushing boundaries and
sensitivities. In the seven-second scene, main character Peter Griffin is
depicted standing next to a protester in front of a line of Chinese tanks –
mirroring famous scenes of an unknown individual now known as “Tank Man” that
were captured during the Chinese military massacre of student protesters on 4
June 1989 in Beijing.
Cathay Pacific told
SCMP it had ordered its third-party provider to
thoroughly investigate and strengthen oversight.
The Tiananmen massacre is one of the most sensitive topics inside China and is
strictly censored. For three decades Hong Kong hosted an annual vigil, with
sometimes hundreds of thousands attending to mourn the victims by candlelight.
However in the aftermath of pro-democracy protests in 2019, Hong Kong and
Chinese authorities launched a sweeping crackdown on opposition and dissent,
and introduced draconian national security legislation. People attempting to
organise or attend Tiananmen vigils of any size since 2020 have been
prosecuted, although some government officials say private markings of the date
are acceptable.
The crackdown has targeted activism and politics, as well as academia and
culture in Hong Kong. Any depiction or reference to the protests or related
subjects are considered highly sensitive."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
