Blizzard bans 'Hearthstone' pro for Hong Kong protest support

[pindicator]

Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image

Hearthstone dude put on a mask and said a short statement of support towards the demonstrators in Hong Kong.

Hmm.  I don't see it.

Darrell

Darrell, let me add to that what Blizzard posted on Weibo:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/commen.../?sort=top

We are very angered and disappointed at what happened at the event and do not condone it in any way. We also highly object the spreading of personal political beliefs in this manner. Effective immediately we've banned the contestant from events and terminated work with the broadcasters. We will always respect and defend the pride of our country.

No mention of rules violations there

[ipecac]

 Last week I thought Hong Kong wasn't really my problem, but this week I want war. I suppose I could be talked into something smaller, like shipping a bunch of weapons to Hong Kong and that Muslim province and Tibet, anyone who wants to try a rebellion. Maybe just trade sanctions. But the idea that China wants to censor Americans speaking in America is deeply offensive to me.

TBS is right, I misunderstood. I thought it was just free speech idealism, but if you're seeing it as a casus belli, then there's no point in discussion. Maybe when the news cycle changes to something completely different.

[ipecac]

Is this some sort of satire or parody? Starting or provoking WW3 over Hearthstone would just be a slight overreaction.

[scooter]

Ultimately they've made a financial decision: the risk of lost money from China in case of a ban there > risk of lost money from public displeasure in the west. The only way they're going to course correct here is if they feel that equation has changed.

The other way to change the equation would be for the US government to punish China for their interference in our internal affairs, until the pressure on companies like Blizzard gets removed.  Last week I thought Hong Kong wasn't really my problem, but this week I want war.  I suppose I could be talked into something smaller, like shipping a bunch of weapons to Hong Kong and that Muslim province and Tibet, anyone who wants to try a rebellion.  Maybe just trade sanctions.  But the idea that China wants to censor Americans speaking in America is deeply offensive to me.  I want to make it clear to the Chinese government that attempting to censor us is a losing tactic, not worth attempting.

I wasn't willing to fight over the Great Firewall, they can keep that, but this is an attack on our citizens.

It's not just Blizzard - the NBA, ESPN are currently also being blatant about this, and it seems to me that there must be 10 more subtle censors for each instance that makes it into the news.

On an emotional level I'm sort of with you, but I don't totally agree. I think companies like Blizzard and the NBA are putting these pressures on themselves in pursuit of money. These are global companies, and this is the cost of doing business in China. The question is whether it's worth it. In my opinion, it's not. I liked this take on the NBA thing, which is naturally getting more broad attention than Hearthstone:

https://slate.com/culture/2019/10/china-...versy.html

China has already played its hand. If Hong Kong is nonnegotiable, there’s nothing to discuss. The subject will become more sensitive, not less, if the Hong Kong police move from tear gas and rubber bullets to the routine use of live ammunition, or if the People’s Liberation Army moves in. Would the NBA muzzle its employees then? Would the players and staff of a globally prominent American company censor their own feelings to protect the Chinese market? Why not take the stand before it gets to that?

<snip>

Why is China the only entity that can respond to provocation? What about the sovereignty and integrity of the National Basketball Association? The Lakers and the Nets are on their way to China right now for a pair of exhibition games. If the regime refuses the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, why should it get the Lakers? If China won’t broadcast Rockets games, why should it get to see LeBron James in person?

China may have 1.4 billion people and $4 billion worth of a basketball market, but only the NBA has NBA basketball. That is nonnegotiable in its own way, if the league is willing to stand up for itself.

In short, I think these companies need to grow some nerve and put the pressure on China. The NBA is insanely popular in China. Maybe they should be forcing China to explain to its citizens why they've lost NBA access because they're too fragile to handle a tweet on a platform their citizens cannot even (directly) access and don't use. They're going to have to risk and likely lose money to do this, yes, but the brand damage they're doing to themselves by allowing China to dictate their PR policies is not zero either.

[Charriu]

Is this some sort of satire or parody? Starting or provoking WW3 over Hearthstone would just be a slight overreaction.

That would be the first stupid reason for a "war":

Pig War

EDIT: Good point scooter.

[Krill]

Fiduciary responsibility. And illegal streaming. And cheap manufacturing. And environmental damage in hidden areas. And...

At it's core capitalism would sell its own mother and daughter into slavery.

[ipecac]

In short, I think these companies need to grow some nerve and put the pressure on China. The NBA is insanely popular in China. Maybe they should be forcing China to explain to its citizens why they've lost NBA access because they're too fragile to handle a tweet on a platform their citizens cannot even (directly) access and don't use. They're going to have to risk and likely lose money to do this, yes, but the brand damage they're doing to themselves by allowing China to dictate their PR policies is not zero either.

How do I break this.... terrible take. You completely misunderstand. The citizens are on the whole fine with it, if the government wasn't banning NBA an influential number would be agitating for it online.

[ipecac]

Yet unlike previous boycotts motivated by geopolitical tensions, the outpouring of anger toward the Rockets over the weekend appeared to be organic in a country where many Chinese, some of whom are guided by a steady stream of state propaganda, see the Hong Kong protests as something far different from how Western publics do: as a violent movement orchestrated by the United States to cleave away Chinese territory.

So when Morey retweeted an image with the words “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” on Friday night, days before the NBA was scheduled to hold preseason games in China, Chinese social media exploded.

Many users compared Morey’s remarks to former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling using racist language and demanded that the league remove Morey like it did Sterling.

The league, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and Morey quickly apologized, but that didn’t stop the Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning, a major Shanghai bank and an electronics maker from suspending ties with the team. Brooklyn Nets co-owner Joe Tsai criticized Morey as “not being as well-informed as he should’ve been,” and Tsai’s company, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, removed Rockets items from its vast online platform.

Meanwhile, the influential state broadcaster, CCTV, demanded that Morey apologize and warned: “Double-faced behavior attempting to make money from China while hurting the feelings of Chinese people will not work and is doomed to pay a price!”

Mark Dreyer, the editor of China Sports Insider, predicted that the furor may soon die down because the NBA apologized quickly, and because Chinese nationalist outrage seems to cycle through targets.

In 2017, a Chinese government-led boycott crippled the South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte after the company allowed a U.S. missile defense system to be installed on its land. In the years since, threats of boycotts seemed to surface on a regular basis.

Mercedes-Benz was labeled an “enemy of the people” following an Instagram post quoting the Dalai Lama, whom many Chinese consider a separatist. Marriott sparked outrage because it listed Taiwan as a country, when many Chinese consider it a territory of the People’s Republic. Leica, the camera maker, had to apologize for celebrating the legacy of photojournalists who covered the Tiananmen crisis, a taboo subject.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/res...ar-AAIoX9U

Whether influenced by state media or not, many Chinese are very nationalistic and will boycott even well-loved brands like NBA or Iphones. If you don't understand this then you don't understand the situation at all.

The citizens know very well why NBA access is gone. Some actually want it, most can live with it.

[ipecac]

Oh, I see now. You westerners don't actually realise that the NBA has pissed off anywhere from tens of millions to half a billion in China over the Hong Kong tweet. Yes, it is a platform they don't have access to. So what?

Wu Jinyan, who became popular for her leading role in the costume drama “Story of Yanxi Palace,” was one of the celebrities advocating a boycott of the NBA’s events this week.

“It is every Chinese citizen’s undeniable responsibility and duty to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Wu wrote on social-media platform Weibo. The actress wrote that she “opposes any comments or activities attempting to separate the country.”

Others declining to attend the events included actors Bai Jingting, Li Yifeng and Zhou Yiwei and singer Zheng Yunlong.
‘One China’

The NBA is the latest international business feeling the heat from the standoff between pro-democracy demonstrators and Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed authorities that has escalated since June. For many Chinese, any support of the protesters is seen as a challenge to the nation’s sovereignty over its territory.

“The love and feelings of Chinese sons and daughters have been rooted in this wide land for thousands of years,” said Fan Chengcheng, the 19-year-old rapper who is also the younger brother of one of China’s most well-known actresses, Fan Bingbing.

Stressing on his official Weibo account that he firmly advocates the “one China” principle, he wrote, “We will not allow anyone to trample on this or tear this apart.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...n-boycotts

[pindicator]

Well, that is one reason why I am happy you are posting so much ipecac. I don't think you understand western thinking as much as you claim, but hopefully we all can at least understand the other position a bit more regardless of whether or not we believe they ate correct