China Celebrities Stoke Nationalist Firestorm Against Foreign Brands Concerned By Xinjiang

Rebecca Davis editorChinese fans breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday after Warner Bros.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s internet regulator has launched a hotline for citizens to report online comments that defame the ruling Communist Party and its approved description of history ahead of the Party’s upcoming 100th anniversary.The new hotline will enable internet users to stop the spread of “mistaken opinions” and create a “good public opinion atmosphere” to pave the way for the July 1 occasion, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a notice.

EXCLUSIVE: Shawn Xiang Yue, one of the producers of Chinese box office juggernaut franchise Detective Chinatown, is launching U.S. production banner Bamboo Curtain.

Kyunghyang Shinmun and Sports Seoul reported today (april 13) that the K-pop girl group will reunite to hold a live broadcast on the mobile app KT Seezn to commemorate their fifth debut anniversary on May 4.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla Vs.

Rebecca Davis editor“Godzilla vs. Kong” was once again muscled out of the top China box office slot by local drama “Sister” thanks to a $13.2 million third weekend cume that was no match for the latter’s $21 million.Its China tally was a touch less than its $13.4 million second weekend sales in North America.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken danced around the notion of a 2022 China Winter Olympic boycott Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, calling such talk “premature.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s e-commerce and entertainment industry giant Alibaba Group has been hit with a fine of RMB18.23 billion ($2.8 billion) for alleged monopoly activities.The record punishment was announced Saturday morning local time by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, which accused Alibaba of abusing its market dominance.The SAMR opened a formal investigation into the company on Dec. 24, 2020.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s influential Douban review and culture online platform has wiped the 2021 Oscars from its site, the latest indication that this year’s Academy Awards have become a political flashpoint in the world’s largest film market.Douban is a trend-setting social networking site home to a vibrant message board community and a platform for user reviews for books, music and films.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina is set to host the winter Olympics in February, but the extent of American involvement is on shaky ground. There’s plenty of precedent for Olympic-scale strife — in 1980 and 1984, the U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorZhang Yimou’s historical spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” will hit North American cinemas on April 30, day-and-date with its China release.“Cliff Walkers” was previously title “Impasse” in English. Its Chinese title translates to “On the Cliff.” It will be distributed abroad by CMC Pictures.The film marks Zhang’s first foray into the spy genre.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentPathe is relocating Guillaume Canet’s live-action movie “Asterix & Obelix” to France, instead of China where it was initially planned to shoot last year, and couldn’t do so due to the pandemic. Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has joined the cast in a cameo role.Now titled “Asterix & Obelix, the Middle Kingdom,” the movie is budgeted at 60 million Euros and marks the next installment of the blockbuster French comic book franchise.

Rebecca Davis editorUniversal’s “Fast & Furious 9” has passed Chinese censorship to receive official approval for release, the company announced on Wednesday. A specific China release date has not been set yet.“See you on the big screen!” Universal Pictures said on its official Weibo social media account, alongside a Chinese version of the poster.“F9” debuts the U.S.

State Department spokesman Ned Price raised the possibility that the U.S. could coordinate with other countries to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over human rights abuses.

BBC China correspondent John Sudworth has relocated to Taiwan amid fears for his safety as tensions grow between Beijing and Britain’s public broadcaster.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJohn Sudworth, China correspondent for the BBC has left the Chinese mainland and relocated to Taiwan. His move follows mounting East-West tension over Xinjiang and Hong Kong and accusations that the BBC in particular has defamed China.Sudworth’s move was announced Wednesday by the BBC in a Twitter message.

Rebecca Davis editorEven though Chinese consumers are arduously calling for a boycott of Western brands concerned about potential human rights abuses in the country’s Xinjiang region, they apparently had no qualms about supporting Hollywood.Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Godzilla vs.

Chinese state TV called Thursday for a boycott of H&M as Beijing lashed out at foreign clothing and footwear brands following Western sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. The ruling Communist Party criticized H&M for saying in March 2020 it would stop buying cotton from the northwestern Chinese region.

Rebecca Davis editorDespite extensive news reporting about China’s secretive “re-education” camps in the Xinjiang region, it is difficult to imagine what it’s like for more than a million Uyghur, Kazakh and other minorities detained inside.