The cancellation marks the second time that Disney has dropped an episode of The Simpsons from its Hong Kong service.
The Walt Disney Company has removed an episode of The Simpsons that featured “forced labor camps” in China from its Hong Kong broadcast.
The episode of One Angry Lisa, which first aired in October on television, is not available on the US channel Disney Plus in Hong Kong.
It was not clear Wednesday when the episode was removed from Hong Kong in connection with Disney, but the episode is still available elsewhere, the media reported. The removal of the mural comes amid growing concern in the city
In a deleted episode, Simpsons actress Marge Simpson takes a spin class where her instructor is in front of the Great Wall of China and says: “Look at the wonders of China. Bitcoin mines, forced labor camps where children make cell phones.”
Disney did not immediately comment as the Hong Kong government said it has no say in business decisions.
My cartoons on Disney examine the Simpsons episode ‘forced labor’ in Hong Kong, China.
Disney researchers screened ‘The Simpsons’ in Hong Kong about forced labor in China. pic.twitter.com/g6ZPRKu4GO
– Badiucao Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) February 8, 2023
This is the second time that the Hong Kong version has downloaded an episode of The Simpsons that made fun of China. An earlier episode featured the Simpsons visiting Beijing’s Tiananmen Square – the site of the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters – and finding a sign that read: “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened.”
The American entertainment newspaper Hollywood Reporter said at the time that the Simpsons story on Tiananmen Square “suffered precisely because it was written to satirize”.
The issue of forced labor is a difficult one in China.
Western governments and activists have criticized China for years for imprisoning hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities – mainly the Uyghurs – in the western region of Xinjiang. China has denied allegations of forced labor, saying the camps are training centers designed to teach Chinese Mandarin and work skills.
Beijing has also reasserted its control over Hong Kong, which in 2021 enacted a ban on broadcasting that could violate a major national security law that China imposed on the city.
Investigators ordered the directors to cut down on their videos and refused permission for others to be shown.
Bans on Western movies or TV shows have already taken place in China, with censors removing images or banning content they deem to be against the views of the Chinese Communist Party.
