Blitzchung, Hong Kong, and China ft. Ma Jian | GHG Show
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"We thought it could only happen back in mainland China, but in the past five years this horrible stuff has actually happened in Hong Kong." – Ma Jian (via interpreter).
Jordan (she/her), Samantha (she/her), Alex P (he/him), and special guest Ma Jian (he/him) talk about the 2019 Hong Kong protests and what the gaming community can do to help.
In October 2019, a professional Hearthstone player from Hong Kong known as Blitzchung won a match at the Hearthstone Grandmasters in Taipei, and used a post-match interview to speak in support of the Hong Kong protests. The next day, Hearthstone publisher Blizzard, which is part owned by a Chinese company called Tencent, announced that they had suspended Blitzchung for 12 months, wouldn’t give him his prize money, and would no longer work with the two casters involved in the interview, citing violation of a competition rule that forbids competitors from “engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard’s image”.
Blizzard eventually restored the prize money and lessened the ban to six months, but the event has raised questions for video game companies and players. In this episode, we ask Ma Jian to help us contextualise the protests, consider the roles of the UK and the US, examine Blizzard’s actions, and ask what video game players can do.
Our conversation with Ma Jian was facilitated by a Mandarin/English interpreter, so listeners may find this episode requires more concentration than usual. Ma Jian was born in China and is from a different generation than the students leading the protests in Hong Kong, but as someone who has faced punishment for his criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, his perspective is valuable. As the interpreter (who is from Hong Kong) told us that even he finds it hard to keep up with what is happening at the protests, we urge people to get the latest news from sources in Hong Kong where possible.
Links:
Guardian article on Blitzchung’s initial suspension: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/08/blitzchung-hearthstone-blizzard-banned-hong-kong-protests
Blizzard’s announcement of the initial suspension: https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/23179289
Letter from US senators to Activision Blizzard: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/101819%20Wyden%20Letter%20to%20Activision%20Blizzard%20RE%20Hong%20Kong.pdf
BBC article on the NBA’s losses after dispute with China: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50091931
Chris Tapsell’s article for Eurogamer about video games in China: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-10-26-gaming-beyond-the-great-firewall-of-china
Waypoint Radio episode 270 in which Blizzard and Hong Kong are discussed: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3a5dx/blizzard-like-any-corporation-cant-be-trusted-to-care-about-anything-past-profits
Ma Jian’s book China Dream: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1115314/china-dream/9781784708696.html
This week’s snack was: Hong Kong egg tarts! You can buy your own at Bun House on Lisle Street, London.
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