Long time-series South Park is no stranger to having international problems. From Scientology to the Muslim religion, the creators have faced their fair share of controversy. Even after over 20 years, and 2 successful games, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker don’t seem to be slowing down when tackling any controversial topic. But after the Season 23 episode “Band in China”, it seems the creators have taken on a new enemy in the form of the Chinese government. The episode, which aired earlier this week, shows Randy Marsh attempting to sell Marijuana in China and getting caught. He then gets thrown into a Chinese forced labor camp.
The episode also repeatedly pokes fun at the country’s crackdown of free speech and even references a current meme comparing Chinese President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. As first reported by THR, the Chinese government seemingly doesn’t appreciate the shows take on the country’s regime and has made an effort to scrub the highly controlled internet of all references to South Park, even getting rid of the box sets and games from store shelves.
Stone and Parker have taken notice of their recent troubles and have issued their own statement:
“Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts, We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn’t look like Winnie the Poo at all. Tune into our 300th episode the Wednesday at 10 p.m. Long live the great Communist Party of China. May the autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful. We good now China?”
Watch the full episode – https://t.co/oktKSJdI9i@THR article – https://t.co/nXrtmnwCJB pic.twitter.com/Xj5a1yE2eL
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 7, 2019
This shows how seriously Stone and Parker are taking the countrywide ban with this obvious tongue in cheek apology. They make reference to a recent incident where Houston Rocket’s owner Daryl Morey made some pro-democratic tweets during protests in Hong Kong that have been raging for weeks against the oppressive Chinese government. This tweet caused the Chinese government to ban all NBA games with the Houston Rockets since NBA basketball is very popular in China. The NBA did send out a tweet about how it “respects China’s culture and traditions”.
South Park airs Wednesday nights at 10 pm and is currently in its historical 23rd season.
What do you think of the countrywide banning of South Park? Or what do you think of South Park in general? Sound off in the comments below!
