The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The names of the issuing bodies have been omitted to protect the sources.
All websites: Remove all reports related to the NBA from the dual homepages [site-wide and news] (including [social media] clients), and move articles to the backend of the site. Cool down and do not hype related topics. During this sensitive period, do not mislead public opinion. (October 10, 2019) [Chinese]
In the wake of a political firestorm launched by a tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressing support for ongoing protests in Hong Kong, the NBA has faced a backlash in China–from the government, its corporate sponsors, and fans.
Houston Rockets Nike merchandise disappears from China stores https://t.co/bMCL1J8gjo pic.twitter.com/2D2lvMS77Z
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) October 10, 2019
Houston Rockets artwork on an indoor basketball court in Shanghai being painted over. We live in sad times. pic.twitter.com/RR6owruj3N
— Cameron Wilson 韦侃仑 (@CameronWEF) October 8, 2019
The official broadcaster CCTV, and Tencent, which is licensed to stream NBA games in China, have both said they will not show any of the pre-season games, some of which are scheduled to be played in China. The future of the NBA franchise in China is uncertain.
But now the government is taking steps to cool the public anger in China. Keith Bradsher and Javier C. Hernández report for The New York Times:
For days, China’s state-run news outlets and tightly controlled social media platforms had been alight with criticism of the N.B.A. after a Houston Rockets executive expressed support for Hong Kong’s antigovernment protesters on Twitter. Plans to broadcast two N.B.A. preseason games were canceled and some Chinese companies suspended partnerships with the league.
Now, the Chinese government appears to be reassessing its campaign against the N.B.A. and dialing down the clamor. The government is already in a bruising trade war with the United States, and a backlash against China could hurt its image in the sporting world ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics near Beijing. The dispute with the N.B.A. was also quickly politicizing an audience of sports fans who would not normally focus on issues like the protests in Hong Kong.
Editors at state news outlets have told reporters to avoid emphasizing the N.B.A. issue for fear that it might become overheated, according to interviews with three journalists on Thursday. [Source]
One of the pre-season games held in Shanghai, between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets, was unexpectedly well-attended Thursday night, though some fans’ anger was evident, even as they watched the game. Despite calls for fans to bring displays of nationalism to the stadium, national flags were reportedly not allowed in, according to some reports:
What must be the most interesting game in the history of NBA pre-season seems on in Shanghai. An etiquette guide on Weibo: Bring a mini national flag, you can make an I love China banner, don’t wear team jerseys/NBA products. Enjoy the game, we paid for it. This guy isn’t going: pic.twitter.com/hD6AcyvmwL
— Paul Mozur 孟建国 (@paulmozur) October 10, 2019
Twist: China banned its own citizen to bring the national flag into the court.https://t.co/4M5vZYMi1O
— Austin H. Wang (@wearytolove) October 10, 2019
The anger is real. So what do Chinese people really think about @NBA commissioner Adam Silver? Huge crowd surrounded us while we were interviewing fans in Shanghai. People said @dmorey is a 傻逼. Lots of folks yelled this. Look it up yourself. @CBSNews is here. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/gdrDc6lZM7
— Ramy Inocencio 英若明 (@RamyInocencio) October 10, 2019
Okay it’s filling in more. Teams warming up now and people are still arriving. I’d say closer to 70 percent full at this point. The poor seats are quite packed. It’s the rich and celebrities below whose seats are empty. pic.twitter.com/ylMoET2sKQ
— Paul Mozur 孟建国 (@paulmozur) October 10, 2019
And here’s our story on the outlook of fans, who almost unanimously said they choose country over sport. One woman told us outside the gates, “this is my first live NBA game, and probably my last.” https://t.co/3iuzXO4QkO
— Paul Mozur 孟建国 (@paulmozur) October 10, 2019
Lmfao. Someone did not vet the Nets’ promo video. They just had players on the big screen answer the question what was the famous dictum of Bruce Lee. The answer, also the favorite saying of Hong Kong protesters: be water! Fans didn’t realize that though. China social media will. pic.twitter.com/Udd0XY64n1
— Paul Mozur 孟建国 (@paulmozur) October 10, 2019
In the U.S., where many were upset at the NBA for its response distancing itself from Morey’s tweet, concerns are growing over censorship on political issues related to China. ESPN, which has a business partnership with Tencent, allegedly told its reporters not to discuss political issues when covering the NBA story. ESPN has made other editorial decisions which appear aimed at appeasing Chinese political interests:
As a Twitter observer noted, not only does ESPN's China map include Taiwan and the Nine Dash Line, which the US gov't and international community deem illegal, it also includes the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which the US has recognized as Indian territory since the 60s.?♂️ pic.twitter.com/J3UVkt1trM
— Jeff M. Smith (@Cold_Peace_) October 10, 2019
At a press conference ahead of a pre-season game, a CNN reporter’s questions about the league’s support for free speech was shut down by NBA representatives.
Journalist gets quickly shut down when she asked James Harden, Russell Westbrook if they would refrain from speaking out on politics/social justice after China debacle… pic.twitter.com/VkXSWo0N0s
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 10, 2019
But the controversy has also inspired protesters at games in the U.S. to show up with signs supporting Hong Kong protests and against the detention of more than one million Uyghurs in internment camps in Xinjiang, where the NBA has a training camp. Some people holding signs got kicked out of games in Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Was proud to #StandWithHongKong at the @NBA’s China/@WashWizards exhibition game! (Got kicked out) #FreeHongKong pic.twitter.com/Rqx3fUxGqt
— Patrick Hedger (@PatHedger18) October 9, 2019
Our “Google Uyghurs” sign has been confiscated. pic.twitter.com/fX4tF4oOxR
— Jon Schweppe (@JonSchweppe) October 9, 2019
'Free Hong Kong' signs confiscated at Wizards basketball game, a day after two fans were kicked out of 76ers game for carrying signs supporting Hong Kong protests. With extreme efforts like this, how can the NBA say they support free speech? https://t.co/TUUIaudOZC via @nbcnews
— Dreisen Heath (@dreisenheath) October 10, 2019
What will Chinese #NBA fans do when the games are banned? Go watch their national CBA game??
No, which means they are going to use VPNs to get around the Great Internet Firewall.
Well Done Chinese authority for encouraging more ppl to challenge the internet censorship.— Johnson Yeung 楊政賢? (@hkjohnsonyeung) October 8, 2019
It’s really amazing. The ferocity of the China response to the NBA has drawn the Hong Kong protests much more deeply into the American mainstream and linked it to issues of speech control in China. Hard to think of a bigger own goal for Beijing in all this. https://t.co/pImmgGs3Sa
— Paul Mozur 孟建国 (@paulmozur) October 10, 2019
When censorship backfires. https://t.co/rimbu0xkKd
— Kathleen McLaughlin (@kemc) October 10, 2019
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.
