China Is Normalizing Authoritarianism
By: Jacquie Rose
Tags: Human Rights, Film, USA, China, Politics

China Is Normalizing Authoritarianism

Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

China — one of the most repressive regimes on the planet — is normalizing its authoritarian behavior.

Examples of China’s oppression are numerous:

China, claiming centuries-old sovereignty over Tibet, invaded the Himalayan region in 1950. In the decades since then, China has destroyed Buddhist temples, tortured and killed Buddhist monks and nuns, and suppressed Tibetan culture

At least one million Uighur Muslims have been interned in more than 85 identified camps (which the Chinese government refers to as “re-education centers”) in Xinjiang. Overseas Uighurs have alleged torture, forced sterilization, and mass surveillance against Muslims in China

China has brutally suppressed the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong

In the summer of 2020, the Hong Kong government imposed a national security law that is widely accepted as a method to stifle the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. The law defines criminal behavior — separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign countries — in broad terms. Prominent pro-democracy figures such as Agnes Chow and Jimmy Lai have been arrested since the law was passed.

The law also states that criminal behavior need not be committed in Hong Kong; anyone, anywhere can violate this law. Just ask Samuel Chu, an American activist whose arrest warrant states that Chu is wanted for, “inciting secession and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.” The “collusion with foreign forces” presumably refers to the fact that Chu lobbies his own government — the United States government — to confront China over the erosion of political freedoms in Hong Kong.

Why has there not been more international outcry to these flagrant anti-democratic moves? One main reason is that China has leveraged its large economy to stifle objection.

Approximately 1.4 billion people live in China, making the country an economic juggernaut. The entertainment industry — film and sports in particular — have taken note to pander to this market.

Daryl Morey was one of the first people to recognize the consequences of speaking out about Hong Kong. In October 2019, while Hong Kong protestors demonstrated against a Chinese extradition law, Morey — the general manager of the Houston Rockets — tweeted an image that stated “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”

The backlash against Morey and his team was swift. Chinese businesses pulled their sponsorships from the NBA. The Chinese Basketball Association suspended connections with the Houston Rockets. (The association’s chairman — Yao Ming — was a former player on the team.) Houston Rockets games were no longer scheduled to be aired on Chinese television statements. Morey was eventually pushed to retract his previous statement. Profit, it seems, mattered more to the NBA than human rights.

This trend can be found outside of basketball. The film industry also caters to China’s worst impulses.

China limits the number of foreign films that can be shown in their cinemas. Competition for one of those slots can be fierce, as blockbuster movies can make more money in China than in the United States. As a result, movie studios crave access to the Chinese market.

Take the 2020 remake of Mulan as an example — Disney specifically tailored details of the remake for a Chinese audience. That fact, by itself, is harmless. However, portions of the film were shot in Xinjiang, a location where millions of Uighur Muslims are actively being repressed. The credits of the movie included a statement of gratitude to the Xinjiang authorities, thereby contributing to the normalization of oppression in China.

China can censor American movies in seemingly silly ways, such as removing a Taiwan flag from Tom Cruise’s jacket in Top Gun or changing the nationality of the paratroopers from Chinese to North Korean in a 2012 remake of Red Dawn.

Censorship can also be insidious. As James Tager of PEN America has noted, Chinese censorship is not only what is removed from movies; it can also mean that certain types of movies are never made at all. Would a Hollywood studio risk making a movie that celebrates rule-breakers or resisting a tyrant if that movie would jeopardize the studio’s other projects as well?

Tibet was a cause célèbre in Hollywood in the 1990s. Human rights abuses do not get the same attention today.

Even in the United States government, taking on China over human rights is a difficult issue. Prominent Republican senators, from Ted Cruz to Rick Scott to Ben Sasse, have been wary over Chinese influence on the American entertainment industry. However, any president — Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and a future Joe Biden administration — needs Chinese cooperation on a wide array of issues, such North Korea, trade disputes, and climate change. Human rights often take a back seat.

Will anything change in the future? It is unlikely in the short term. The 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in China, where Chinese officials will likely restrict any mere mention of human rights abuses in exchange for sports footage.