Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific has apologized after its in-flight entertainment system included an episode of Family Guy featuring scenes depicting Tiananmen Square.
airline He told the South China Morning Post. The company had apologized to customers after complaints were raised on social media that the episode could violate Hong Kong's national security laws.
“We emphasize that the content of the program does not represent Cathay Pacific's position and have immediately arranged for the program to be removed as soon as possible,” an airline spokesperson told the station.
The American animated comedy series is known for pushing boundaries and sensibilities. The seven-second scene shows protagonist Peter Griffin standing next to a protester in front of a column of Chinese tanks, now known as “Tank Man,” who was captured in a massacre by Chinese troops. It reflects the famous scene of an unknown person. Student demonstrators in Beijing on June 4, 1989.
Cathay Pacific told the SCMP that it had ordered a thorough investigation and increased monitoring of the third-party provider.
The Tiananmen incident is one of the most sensitive topics in China and is heavily censored. For 30 years, Hong Kong has held annual vigils, sometimes attended by hundreds of thousands of people, with candlelight vigils to remember the victims.
However, in the aftermath of the 2019 pro-democracy protests, Hong Kong and Chinese authorities launched a sweeping crackdown on dissent and dissent, introducing draconian national security laws. Since 2020, people who have tried to organize or participate in Tiananmen rallies of any size have been prosecuted, although some government officials have said it is acceptable to mark the date privately.
The crackdown has targeted not only Hong Kong's academia and culture, but also activists and politics. Depictions or references to protests or related subjects are considered highly sensitive.
In January, Amazon Prime's hit TV series “Expats” was released everywhere except Hong Kong, where it is set. The series featured scenes from the 2014 protests.
And in 2021, Disney+ launched in Hong Kong, but it was missing episodes of The Simpsons. The missing episode depicted Tiananmen Square and a plate that read, “Nothing happened here in 1989.”
