The Chinese Embassy in Poland sought to halt the opening of an art exhibition by an exiled Chinese dissident that dealt with subject metter ciritcal to the Beijing. The attempted censorship reveals the party-state’s determination to limit transnational criticism of the regime. 

Czech outlets Radio HEY and Radio Color cancelled a radio show that was found to have direct ties to Chinese state-owned media company China Radio International. Echoing China’s talking points on Taiwan and Tibet, such programs have extended China’s media influence campaign into Europe.

An episode of American TV show The Simpsons was blocked in Hong Kong because of references to the human rights violations and forced labor camps in Xinjiang. American companies have had a tendency to comply with Chinese government demands to retain access to the Chinese market.

In 2019, a professional e-sports player’s use of a Hong Kong protest slogan resulted in a slew of ramifications from video game company Activision Blizzard, bringing into light the authoritarian threats against free speech in the video game space.

China has a great deal of pressure over the American entertainment sector. Notably, Marvel eliminated Tibetan characters from “Doctor Strange” and Disney had a dismissive response when criticized for filming “Mulan“ adjacent to Uyghur internment camps.

China has inserted itself into Albania’s economy and politics via major investments in air transportation, energy, agriculture, and mining, creating new avenues for leverage. Collaboration with key economic players and networks in turn creates dependencies through which China gains systematic influence.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru,” a movie in the Despicable Me franchise, premiered in China with a different ending. Critics said that the alternate ending promoted China’s three-child policy; this is not the first time a foreign film has had its ending altered to align with China’s censorship policies.

“Spring, Seeing Hong Kong Again” is part of a set of documentaries that promote CCP narratives. Overseas film festivals seem to have been coerced by China to give the works a veneer of international pedigree.

Chinese malign influence efforts in Latvia so far have been relatively passive. The goals are primarily to create a positive image of China, gather information on and establish contacts with the political and economic elite, and probe possibilities for major investments in Latvia.

In partnering with Chinese tech firm Tencent to launch a version of its game in China, video game developer Roblox had to comply with Chinese censorship laws—for example, maps created in the game had to recognize Beijing’s claim of self-ruled Taiwan —and host user data on local servers.

Through its united front system, the Chinese Communist Party mobilizes community organizations in the diaspora to counter international criticism of its repressive policies in Xinjiang while promoting its own policies and interests abroad.

After putting up millions of dollars for a 12.5% stake in Top Gun: Maverick, Tencent backed out of the $170 million Paramount Pictures production over growing concern that Communist Party officials would disapprove of the company’s affiliation with a movie celebrating the American military.

In a trailer for Top Gun: Maverick, a film supported by China’s Tencent Pictures, a Taiwanese flag that appeared on a jacket in the 1986 original was replaced with a generic blue and red rectangle—presumably a concession to Beijing’s stance on Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic of China.

The relationship between PRC rules, the Chinese entertainment industry, and U.S. media conglomerates underscores a transition in the role of entertainment in politics. Beijing increasingly weaponizes technology and corporations’ dependence on political authorities for market access to control content.

Brooklyn Nets owner and Alibaba founder Joe Tsai personifies the compromises embedded in the NBA-China relationship, which brings in billions of dollars but requires the league to do business with an authoritarian government and look past the kind of social justice issues it is fighting at home.