Magna Carta: Everything You Wanted To Know | HistoryExtra Podcast - HistoryExtra - "‘What is the strangest use or abuse of Magna Carta that you are aware of?’
‘I can't answer that exactly. But what I will say is an anecdote about what took about 2015 when a series of historians, including myself, went out from the Institute of Historical Research to Beijing and for a conference at, about Magna Carta at Peking University. Somewhat to our surprise, the subject had been suggested by the people at Peking University, and one of the old China hands who came with us, I will come back to the strangest clause and this does get there in the end, one of the old China hands who was with us said that he thought this was a move by the then rather reformist foreign minister. Well, but the Chinese Foreign Minister, by the time we arrived, things were changing. And it was quite clear, the atmosphere was actually really unpleasant. I thought it was quite clear that the Chinese academics at this conference, were very, very wary of saying anything controversial, and just wouldn't talk about current politics. And I always remember at one point, very provocatively, this discussion had come on to sort of great leaders and whether leaders sort of influence the course of history. So I said, well, would that apply to Chairman Mao, and dead dead silence. A Chinese chap got up and immediately changed the, the subject, sorry. So what were the Chinese delegates going to do? Because they all had to give little papers about Magna Carta. And their favorite topic was the chapter in Magna Carta, which abolished fish weirs in the Thames, and the Medway. The reason for this was it was completely safe. So this was the favorite chapter of the Chinese delegates in, in Magna Carta.’"
The CIA must have been making the Chinese delegates fearful. Surely Xi Dada would not do anything to scholars discussing English Medieval History in an academic context?
This was in 2015. The CIA has had 6 years since then to wreak even more havoc so Chinese scholars must be a lot more scared now
Afghan Taliban says it sees China as a 'friend', promises not to host Uyghur militants from Xinjiang: Report - "The Taliban has said it sees China as a "friend" of Afghanistan and assured Beijing that it would not host Uyghur Islamic militants from the volatile Xinjiang province, which is a major worry for the Chinese government... Playing down China's concerns, the Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said they see China as a "friend" to Afghanistan and is hoping to talk to Beijing about investing in reconstruction work "as soon as possible". Suhail also said the Taliban would no longer allow China's Uyghur separatist fighters from Xinjiang, some of whom had previously sought refuge in Afghanistan, to enter the country. The Taliban would also prevent al-Qaida or any other terrorist group from operating there"
So much for Muslim solidarity
Colby Cosh: Chloé Zhao's big Oscar wins pose no small problem for Beijing - "By rights they ought to be erupting with pleasure at the spectacle of a mainlander achieving such a thing — being, really, the first to achieve such a thing — against the formidable odds. Never mind the sexism: Hollywood would always prefer to give its trade awards to its own familiar creatures. But word of Chloé Zhao’s victory was immediately suppressed on Chinese news and social media. As a 31-year-old Chinese expat, nearly a decade ago, Zhao gave an interview and mentioned what everybody knows about being a young person in a communist country. She had grown up in an environment of pervasive lying, and when she received a liberal Western education she was able to better understand the world, including her own experience. She hasn’t sounded off about this since, and most mainlanders trying to make a life outside China don’t. But ultranationalist gremlins on Chinese social media began grumbling about the old interview immediately when she received her statuette. At the same moment, others were starry-eyed at hearing her quote a Chinese classic — in a Beijing accent — to an audience of zillions. This seems more like “nationalism” of the traditional variety, but communism has a way of making enemies of even the friendliest expatriates. Even if they are loyal to the system in principle, they so rarely choose to go home... maybe the director’s politics aren’t the real problem. Chinese state media have been gorging themselves on the recent spate of hate crimes against Asian-Americans. It is relatively easy for them to persuade their own citizens that the streets of American cities are awash in Chinese gore: Lord knows there are enough Americans who seem to believe it. But the picture of an America vibrating with hatred toward Asians doesn’t really fit with the vision of the mothership of American culture giving the highest honour in its gift to someone named Zhao"
sameera khan on Twitter - "The truth is that Muslims are treated better in Russia/China than in the United States."
Weird how she lives in NJ/NYC instead of Russia/China
Pakistani influencer’s false tweets on Dalai Lama spark demand for apology from Tibetans - "Tibetan netizens have demanded apology from Pakistani social media influencer Sameera Khan after she posted a series of tweets since Oct. 17 that said the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama is “World’s most loved ex-slave owner” and condemned US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) for her admiration of the Tibetan leader... Retweets from her account consist of wrong information aimed only to slander, like accusing the Dalai Lama of the atrocities on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. She also called out AOC’s support for the Dalai Lama, “When will AOC renounce her support for slave owners? Not until her brain dead supporters hold her accountable for supporting slave owners.” She is a former correspondent for Russia Today (RT) in the US, and also the winner of the Miss New Jersey USA title in 2015. In 2018, she posted a variety of tweets defending known genocidal leader Joseph Stalin Stalin’s gulags as being not as severe as portrayed in history. Later, she apologized for the gulag memes, stating she found out that the information in the memes she shared was “inaccurate”."
Meme - "Xi Jinping: Whatcha say, you nasty girl, you?
ESPN, Microsoft, Reddit, Blizzard, NBA, Apple, Marvel, Netflix, Mercedes, Disney, Paramount, Google, Facebook, Nike: Anything you want me to say, Big Daddy!"
China calls the US ‘shameful and dirty,’ says America is suppressing Chinese tech companies | The Post Millennial
This is rich, given that China outright blocks them
China blocks app's social media after post on Tiananmen anniversary - "A Chinese shopping app has been blocked on social media after a post on the anniversary of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989, as Beijing’s censorship kicked into gear around the sensitive date. The Weibo page of Xiaohongshu, a Pinterest-like platform where users share travel and shopping tips, published a post on 4 June saying, “Tell me loudly, today’s date is….!” according to screenshots circulating online. The date was the 32nd anniversary of the crackdown. But it was uncertain if the post referred to Tiananmen, as the company regularly makes similar statements on Friday ushering in the weekend."
Analysis: Xi becomes 'Mao' in Tiananmen visual effect - Nikkei Asia - "There on the gate was Xi Jinping, Chinese president and party general secretary, in a gray Mao suit. Just below his feet was the portrait of Mao Zedong, also dressed in a gray Mao suit. When Xi raised his right hand at the end of the ceremony, the gesture was an exact replica of Mao statues standing across the country. The visual effects projected an allusion in the eyes of the people there: that sometime in the future Xi was going to rise to a status on par with Mao, the founding father of the People's Republic of China. Interestingly, while the crowd witnessed the Xi-Mao juxtaposition, folks at home watching TV did not. Cleverly, state-run China Central Television used the sea of small five-star red flags waved by the cheering crowd to cover Mao's portrait beneath Xi. The Xi-Mao overlap was likely a trial balloon floated in front of a limited audience to gauge public opinion. The question at hand is simple: Is the country ready for a more powerful Xi? It is unusual for Xi to choose a gray Mao suit. At military parades at home and banquets overseas, Xi has always worn a blackish Mao suit."
Meituan shares slide after chief posts ancient poem on book-burning - Nikkei Asia - " The share price of the Chinese food delivery app Meituan fell as much as 9.8 per cent on Monday after its chief executive posted an ancient poem that investors interpreted as criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping on social media. Meituan is currently under a Chinese government antitrust investigation for abusing its market dominance, following a record $2.8 billion fine levied on its chief rival Alibaba last month... In Xi's increasingly authoritarian China, the room for free speech and dissent has shrunk and online netizens and investors were quick to see Wang comparing the repression of the modern era to earlier times."
Analysis: China loses Europe as Xi's hard-line diplomacy backfires - Nikkei Asia - "The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to freeze the ratification process of an investment pact with China -- a deal that Beijing six months ago considered a big strategic victory... President Xi does not appear to have many cards to play... China's diplomatic efforts suffered another blow when Lithuania, one of the three Baltic countries, said it is leaving the 17+1 cooperation framework between 17 Central and Eastern European countries and China. The 17+1 is an important framework for China to exert its influence in the region and goes hand in hand with the Belt and Road Initiative... The U.S., Japan, the U.K., other G-7 members, the EU, India, Australia and others are now surrounding and watching China from a distance. While all eyes are on China, meaningful direct dialogue with that country remains stalled on a number of fronts. China's only response seems to be to double down on "wolf warrior diplomacy.""
As census numbers puzzle, China upgrades birth data by 1m per year - Nikkei Asia - "A week after releasing its 2020 census, China has begun revising demographic data for most of the preceding decade upward, raising concerns about the integrity of its statistics in the face of a looming population decline. The government is adjusting the birth data for 2011 to 2019, which was based on a small sample of the total population. This comes on the heels of suspicion over how the 2020 head count of children greatly exceeded the total number of babies reported born in the years prior... Chinese authorities dismiss allegations of padding the census numbers. With the population seen on the verge of officially shrinking, the Chinese data has come under greater scrutiny... Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the U.S., believes that the population was already decreasing in 2020. With its 2016 move to allow all married couples to bear children twice instead of just once, the Communist Party leadership is eager to show that the new two-child policy is working. There is speculation that the data revisions are driven partly by a desire to deflect criticism of the long-running family planning program."
English out, Xi Jinping Thought in at Shanghai schools - Nikkei Asia - "School children here returning to class next month will be pleased to find that they will no longer need to remember the intricacies of English spelling. But all will not be fun and games: "The Communist Party leads all forms of work in China" may be one of the phrases of President Xi Jinping that they are required to commit to memory. A new textbook on "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" will be required reading in Shanghai elementary, middle and high schools starting in September, for classes on morality and the rule of law in lower grades and ideology and politics for high schoolers. Students will likely be expected to memorize notable quotes from the president."
China purges school libraries of 'Western veneration' - Nikkei Asia - "Chinese authorities have ordered primary and secondary schools to rid their libraries of books that may lead to veneration of the West at the expense of promoting patriotism... Up to now, schools have recommended books about the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. These figures are poster children of U.S. capitalism, meaning that such titles could be pulled. Books promoting certain Western ideas or tending to "obsequiously embrace all things foreign" are prohibited. The meaning is open to broad interpretation, so foreign titles for children could be banned. Books with "scientific errors" are off-limits as well. But online retailers have suggested "Gulliver's Travels" for second graders. "It's become difficult to choose books for kids to read," an elementary school teacher in Anhui Province said. Books on religion face a harder crackdown. Titles going against party policies on religion are banned, along with those that lend themselves to proselytizing. There are fears of tighter controls on school libraries spilling over to other libraries and bookstores... The Communist Party is holding more study sessions aimed at adult party members. Providing instruction on its history, they are held once or twice a week in government organs and state-owned enterprises by party apparatchiks. "A Brief History of the Communist Party of China" weighs in at about 530 pages -- around 150 of which cover the administration of Xi, who took power in 2012 as general secretary. "The things brought up in the study sessions frequently concern Xi's record," said a veteran member in his 50s who lives in Beijing. Mao Zedong's chaotic Cultural Revolution, which ran for a decade from 1966, is being downplayed in the historical narrative. A previous edition of the book said Mao bears "significant responsibility" for the Cultural Revolution, according to the Sing Tao Daily newspaper in Hong Kong. The errors of that period were detailed in its own chapter. This time, Mao's responsibility is downplayed with language that he "mistakenly" launched the Cultural Revolution after "counterrevolutionaries" took advantage of him. This may have been influenced by the Xi administration, which looks to the father of modern China as a political role model."
World cannot ignore Chinese aggression in South China Sea - Nikkei Asia - "China is increasing its push against U.S. warships, using aggressive signaling; dangerously close maneuvering; illuminating U.S. ships with fire-control radar, which suggests the imminent launch of weapons; and overflying at very close range... The strategy is also becoming more aggressive because of China's internal political concerns. As President Xi Jinping attempts to consolidate his power, he needs to keep the growing middle class content, but a slowing economy means another "rallying cry" is necessary. That may well manifest itself in a more nationalistic tone about the South China Sea."
Analysis: Biden's old friend Xi is not the man he once was - Nikkei Asia - "Xi has a bitter memory of his first meeting with Trump. In April 2017, while hosting Xi at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted at the Florida estate by Trump's daughter Ivanka, her husband, Jared Kushner, and their children as well as the First Couple. The Kushner children, Arabella and Joseph, sang the popular Chinese folk song "Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower)" for the Chinese guests. Peng herself is a well-known singer. Images of Trump and his family entertaining Xi and Peng went viral in China. But immediately before the singing, the Trump administration had decided to launch the missiles, despite knowing that China had been against a U.S. strike. During the subsequent long dinner, the attacks began. Xi was left in the dark. Only as the banquet was about to end was he informed, by Trump, of the aerial attacks. The surprise was similar to one Xi had delivered to Biden in December 2013, after Xi had become China's top leader. Biden was on another visit to China, this time accompanied by another granddaughter, Naomi's younger sister Finnegan. The idea was to project a "family-to-family friendship." But that screenplay hit the trash can when it was learned China had abruptly established an air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, in the East China Sea, as if to coincide with Biden's visit."
China's $2.14tn of bonds coming due unnerves foreign investors - Nikkei Asia - "The problem of heavily indebted state-backed companies in China is starting to spook investors in global corporate bonds... Since 2020, defaults have occurred on more than 10 dollar-denominated bonds, according to financial information providers such as Refinitiv."
Analysis: Xi muzzles ex-premier Wen Jiabao as political season nears - Nikkei Asia - "An essay written by former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has faced various viewing restrictions in mainland China. His writing, which pays tribute to his late mother and was published recently in a Macao newspaper, cannot be forwarded through messaging apps, and related articles cannot be searched on the internet. There are likely two aspects as to why the administration of President Xi Jinping has gagged Wen. The conventional take is to point out that Wen, who served as premier under President Hu Jintao between 2003 and 2013, was known as a "reformist" leader, and that the references his essay made to the Cultural Revolution were an indirect criticism of Xi. Wen famously mentioned that dark chapter of Chinese history in a news conference in March 2012, when he warned that unless China's political system was reformed, "a historical tragedy like the Cultural Revolution could occur again." It was his last news conference as premier, and Wen spoke those words in an uncustomary harsh dressing down of then-Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai... A more realistic analysis is that China is now entering a politically sensitive period, and the Xi administration sent a warning to Wen and his relatives to keep silent and refrain from making any moves... Jiang Zhicheng, the grandson of former President Jiang Zemin. Jiang Zhicheng in early 2015 accompanied his famous grandfather on a climb up Dongshan Ridge, a mountain located on Hainan Island. Jiang Zemin had brought along three generations of his family, including his wife, children and grandchildren. "Jiang Zemin is here. It's a worthwhile trip," the former leader cried out from the mountain. "If I promote this spot after I return to Beijing, tourists will flock here!" Jiang's remarks on the mountain, which were first reported by a local online media outlet, were aimed at showing the former leader was still influential, not only with the political world but also with the economic and financial world. Seeing Jiang's move as disturbing, the Xi administration immediately ordered the deletion of all related articles and photos on the internet... If party elders, second-generation reds and "princelings," or children of prominent senior party officials, are allowed to freely speak now, they could hamper the Xi administration's efforts to take full control of the country's economy and financial sector, as well as the nation's politics."
Carlos Martinez on Twitter - "China will soon be the world's largest economy. It'll be the first nation to reach that status whose rise isn't built on colonialism, slavery & genocide, but rather on hard work, good economics & effective governance. This should earn China love, but it earns it hate in the West."
When you just hate white people. Ironically, liberals hate hard work, good economics & effective governance since those are aspects of "whiteness"
Chinese State Media Tries To Promote China Using Video Of Swiss Alps - "China Daily posted the clip on May 10 showing a dog walking on a path winding through lush hills in a quaint countryside town, hashtagged #GlamorChina"
Facebook - "Oh wow, this is huge, China passed anti-sanction law, which mandates foreign companies in China to resist scansions and assist those who are under embargo. Basically forcing people to chose sides. How will it be enforced is unknown but it’s not going to be well received by a lot of people I reckon. Cold War 2.0 is really coming."
Bloody Harvest—How Everyone Ignored the Crime of the Century - ""the Tribunal concludes with certainty that forced organ harvesting has happened in multiple places in the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and on multiple occasions for a period of at least twenty years and continues to this day"... Throughout most of the world the disparity between donor numbers and patient numbers leads to long waiting lists, but in China it is possible to get a heart transplant within a matter of days, and some individuals have been told that they can travel to the mainland on a specific date and immediately receive their transplant. In other words, the Chinese authorities know exactly when a particular person is due to die, and they can guarantee that a healthy heart will be found in the to-be-deceased. As stated in the Final Judgement, this “could only occur if there was an available bank of potential living donors who could be sacrificed to order.”... both Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners received regular blood tests in detention. According to the testimony of former prisoner Gulbahar Jelilova, injections were given once every ten days, along with regular ultrasound tests... It turns out that the Communist Party is hardly bothering to hide the identity of its human sacrifices. The Tribunal heard recordings of telephone calls made to Chinese hospitals by investigators from the World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG). Requests were made, in Mandarin, for organ transplants. When the callers enquired about the sources, most hospital staff were happy to reveal that the organs would be coming from Falun Gong prisoners (all that clean living and qigong exercise is thought to guarantee healthy body parts)... Human rights investigator Ethan Gutmann provided evidence to the Tribunal in December 2018, stating that “over the last 18 months, literally every Uyghur man, woman, and child – about 15 million people – have been blood and DNA tested, and that blood testing is compatible with tissue matching.”"
Damn CIA!
New video game approvals dry up in China as internal memo shows that developers now have many red lines to avoid | South China Morning Post - "The Chinese government has not announced any new licensed video games for August and September, breaking a tradition of monthly approvals, according to information on the website of gaming watchdog the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA).
The halt in approvals reflects Beijing’s harsher stance on what constitutes appropriate gaming content, and the regulatory net looks set to tighten. According to a memo from a recent internal training course organised by China’s state-backed gaming association for members, seen by the South China Morning Post and confirmed by several people familiar with the situation who declined to be identified, regulatory review of gaming content is getting stricter and companies will have to stay clear of a long list of red lines if they want games approved in future. The memo reminds China’s gaming studios that video games are no longer apolitical “pure entertainment” but a new form of art that must highlight “a correct set of values” and accurate understanding of China’s history and culture. The training course was aimed at helping game developers to understand the new approach in order to secure content approval. According to China’s published gaming review rules, which are general in scope, regulatory reviews will look at red flags such as whether a video game violates Chinese laws, leaks state secrets, propagates superstition, spreads violence or gambling, or encourages minors to hurt themselves. But according to the memo seen by the Post, implementation of the rules is likely to be more specific and much stricter. For example, games depicting a fictitious, post-apocalyptic world where players are encouraged to kill, may not be viewed favourably by censors. “Some games have blurred moral boundaries. Players can choose to be either good or evil … but we don’t think that games should give players this choice … and this must be altered,” states the memo. The memo also makes it clear that games about gay romance and “effeminate males” will likely fall foul of censors... History is also a landmine for game developers. Historical elements, including characters, maps and clothing, should conform with mainstream accounts. “Games can’t distort facts or deliberately provoke controversy, and historical figures with established narratives must not be refashioned”... History simulation games that allow players to change history in virtual worlds will likely ring alarm bells, particularly if Japan and Nazi Germany are involved, according to the memo. The memo also points out that games which encourage players to destroy “barbarians” could be reviewed for spreading “colonialism” while games featuring Japanese warlords could be seen as glorifying “militarism” and “jingoism”. On the subject of Japan, the memo also warns that “many current Chinese games now look more Japanese than Japanese games”. Religion is another hot topic. The use of the crucifix and swastika should be applied carefully in games... The Chinese government issued new rules on August 30 limiting gaming time for players under the age of 18 to 8pm to 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays, marking China’s most stringent measure yet to tackle video game addiction. On September 8, Chinese gaming giants Tencent Holdings and NetEase, along with other Chinese gaming developers, were summoned to meet with Chinese authorities. During the meeting, regulators warned them that content promoting the “wrong set of values”, including money worship and “gay love”, must be cleaned up."
Hong Kong experiences ‘alarming’ population drop, but government says not all 90,000 leaving city because of national security law | South China Morning Post - "The decline to 7.39 million people is the biggest since the local population saw the first signs of a decreasing trend in the middle of 2020, by 0.3 per cent year on year. Before that there had always been steady growth since mid-2003, with an increase rate ranging from 0.2 to 1.1 per cent leading to a population of 7.5 million by the middle of last year... Paul Yip Siu-fai, chair professor in social work and social administration at the University of Hong Kong, called the trend “alarming”, and said part of the decline was because of a sharp increase in net migration, on top of a low birth rate."
China insists Genghis Khan exhibit not use words 'Genghis Khan' - "A French museum has postponed an exhibit about the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan citing interference by the Chinese government, which it accuses of trying to rewrite history. The Château des ducs de Bretagne history museum in the western city of Nantes said it was putting the show about the fearsome 13th century leader on hold for over three years... Chinese authorities demanded that certain words, including “Genghis Khan,” “Empire” and “Mongol” be taken out of the show. Subsequently they asked for power over exhibition brochures, legends and maps. The spat comes as the Chinese government has hardened its discrimination against ethnic Mongols, many of whom live in the northern province of Inner Mongolia."
Rare rallies in China over Mongolian language curb - "Ethnic Mongolians in northern China have staged rare rallies against measures to reduce teaching in the Mongolian language in favour of Chinese... Authorities have warned people in Inner Mongolia against speaking out on social media. Posts on the subject on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, have been removed... staff at a school in Naiman county told the BBC that only around 40 students had registered for the semester in place of the usual 1,000. Some subsequently changed their minds, and only some 10 remained... It has been an unusual display of widespread dissent in the remote grasslands region bordering Mongolia and Russia. A 32-year-old herder from Xilingol League told AFP he was concerned children would lose fluency in their mother tongue. "Almost every Mongolian in Inner Mongolia is opposed to the revised curriculum," said the man, who gave his surname as Hu... Temtsiltu Shobtsood, chairman of the Inner Mongolian People's Party, an exile group, accused China of "trying to suppress" the Mongolian language. "The whole world is talking about human rights, but we are not visible enough," he said, adding that the imposition of Mandarin and the majority Han Chinese culture on minorities in Inner Mongolia was a form of "cultural genocide"."
Culture war: Inner Mongolia seethes as China presses Mandarin at school - "The rare mass rallies held by ethnic Mongolians is the largest China has seen in decades, where authorities under Chinese President Xi Jinping brook no dissent. But then the crackdown came. Armoured vehicles moved in to surround schools in Tongliao, a stronghold of resistance where ethnic Mongolians make up almost half of the population. The clampdown echoes Beijing's moves in Xinjiang and Tibet, where similar policies to assimilate local minorities into the dominant Han population were implemented in line with Xi's vision of national and ideological unity through cultural identity. Police offered cash bounties for leads on ringleaders and publicised the arrests of dozens of suspects accused of gathering signatures and sharing dissenting messages on WeChat. Parents who refused to send their children back to school were threatened with layoffs, fines and students' expulsion. In one district, officials offered cash to students who convinced their peers to return, according to official notices... During a recent trip to the region, AFP reporters were tailed by a convoy of propaganda officials and unidentified men, leaving contacts jittery and afraid to be named... "For young children who are now around seven or eight years old, in a decade or two they will not be able to speak with grandparents in their own language."... Bainuu, the sole Mongolian-language social media app available in China, was pulled by authorities in August... A Tongliao parent told AFP via phone that his toddler is currently being homeschooled, despite repeated threats from local police... The curriculum change shows that China is determined to "wipe out Mongolian language, culture and identity," says Enghebatu Togochog, Director of the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center, based in New York City. "Mongolians really don’t want to lose their language. If they lose this, they lose everything.""
Facebook - "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has decided to ban international online gaming. Chinese gamers can no longer play with players from foreign countries. Even chatting with them, is now forbidden. This comes after China pulled the popular new Nintendo Switch game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, from sale because the game was used by Hong Kong activists to spread pro-democracy messages. It's an island-life simulation game that allows users to decorate their game environment with a pattern creation tool, which some players have used to create politically sensitive images and slogans which they screenshot and share on social media. Games are becoming a new battleground in the propaganda wars. Just a few weeks ago, an Uncensored Library was erected inside the game Minecraft. It was a virtual hub housing a collection of otherwise inaccessible journalism from all over the world, with specific sections devoted to Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. I think this is something Ideas Beyond Borders should do - sneak our digital library into a game. These digital worlds where people can be themselves are the new Trojan Horses for freedom."
Imagine being so scared of foreign ideas
