South Park’s ‘Band in China’ Episode Inspires Hong Kong Protesters

Controversial American cartoon, South Park, aired a pointed episode late last year entitled, “Band in China” that skewered the murderous communist government and American companies’ desire to appease them.  It did get them banned in China, but it also is now inspiring pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

In the episode, Randy Marsh, a farmer, decides to take his business to China for financial gain. When there, he comes face to face with a host of other American businesses looking to China for money. South Park creators

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, mock the NBA, Disney, and Hollywood with lines such as, “You’ve got to lower your ideals of freedom if you want to suck on the warm teat of China.”

When Randy is thrown into a labor camp, he comes face to face with another cartoon character banned in the country: Winnie the Pooh sits forlorn in a prison cell, begging for honey. This may seem like an exaggeration, but it isn’t. Winnie the Pooh is banned in China due to some bloggers comparing the chubby bear’s appearance to Xi Jinping’s, the Chinese dictator. A foul-mouthed Mickey Mouse even makes an appearance as he tries to appease the Chinese for maximum profit.

Unsurprisingly, South Park got pulled from the Chinese internet.  The Chinese equivalent of Twitter has precisely zero mentions of the show which had been available there for years.

Even though the Chinese government has tried their hardest to remove the powerful act of free speech, the episode got a second wind. Hong Kong protesters aired this episode on a big screen during one of their pro-democracy protests.

Art is powerful. Freedom of speech gives opportunities to express unfiltered ideas powerful enough to inspire those oppressed all across the globe. Many American companies — including Hollywood, which is the worst offender of them all —  are selling out these abilities to appease an evil government.

Attacks on Disney are justified. In the movie Dr. Strange, Disney removed the Tibetan character and replaced it with a white, Scottish woman to guarantee better sales in China.  And, of course, LeBron James completely sold out after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said we should stand with Hong Kong protesters.

“We all do have freedom of speech, but at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others and you’re only thinking about yourself,” Lebron said. 

Really?  

At the Nixon Library on July 23rd, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “If the free world doesn’t change Communist China, Communist China will change us.”  

Pompeo is exactly right.

Fear of exercising free speech to appease a dictatorship is reprehensible and against all American ideals. 

Hat Tip: The Washington Post, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, South Park