China’s censors have already won

The Chinese Communist Party regime has always been censorious. Its so-called ‘Great Firewall’ means that Facebook, Twitter and Google are blocked in China, many are films banned and even Winnie the Pooh was persona non grata after netizens spotted his resemblance to Xi Jinping. In the Chinese version of Bohemian Rhapsody, references to Freddie Mercury’s sexuality – an important part of his story – are purged. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was banned completely, for its references to ghosts and cannibalism, as was Nomadland, due to comments by its Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao, who described China as ‘a place where there are lies everywhere’.

But now, Beijing is going even further, and directly changing a film’s plot. It was revealed this week that the Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video has altered the ending of David Fincher’s 1999 classic Fight Club so the film finishes with a propaganda victory for the Chinese regime.