“South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker demonstrated this week what people should say when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictates what people can and cannot say on American soil.
In Wednesday night’s episode of the hit show, the character Randy Marsh explicitly stated “f*** the Chinese government” in response to the country banning “South Park” in the country after last week’s episode excoriated CCP-imposed censorship. The Hollywood Reporter has more:
South Park was banned in China for the episode “Band in China,” in which the government was bashed. The show also went after Hollywood and the NBA for doing business with the country. Parker and Stone have since become folk heroes of sorts in Hong Kong, protestors showing bootlegged copies of “Band in China” on large projector screens on the streets.
The Chinese government reacted by banning the show and scrubbing all mentions off its internet.
The show responded to the move … with four words: “F*** the Chinese government.”
At first in the episode, Randy resists uttering allegedly disparaging words in fear that he would lose tremendous revenue selling marijuana to China; he only reverses course when his business partner, the pot-head Towelie, reprimands him for overlooking Chinese human rights abuses to make a few bucks.
Aside from the episode, both Matt Stone and Trey Parker have exercised maximum irreverence in response to China banning the show, issuing a not-so-friendly apology for having offended the CCP’s communist sensibilities.
“Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts,” Parker and Stone wrote. “We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn’t look just like Winnie the Pooh at all! Tune into our 300th episode this Wednesday at 10! Long live the Great Communist Party of China! May this autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?”
Contrast Stone and Parker’s reaction with that of the top brass of the NBA, who apologized to the CCP in the wake of Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeting his support for the Hong Kong protesters.
“We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable,” NBA chief communications officer Mike Bass said in a statement Sunday. “While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals’ educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them. We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.”
Daryl Morey subsequently deleted his tweet and apologized for having offended the Chinese people. “I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,” he tweeted. “I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives. I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA.”