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Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific has apologized for offering passengers to watch an episode of the American show “Family Guy” that included a scene and a joke referencing the infamous 1989 crackdown on protests in the Chinese capital’s Tiananmen Square.
An episode of the first season of the American animated series shows father Peter Griffin standing next to “Tankman” in the infamous photo of the lone resistance of the Chinese military as they moved in to break the days. protracted democratic protest. As the tanks approach, the cartoon dad says, “Ah, you, I just came to buy some fireworks,” before running off.
Representative for Hong Kongthe leading airline said South China Morning Post on Tuesday that it had apologized to customers after someone complained on social media about the in-flight episode.
Jeff Widener/AP
“We emphasize that the content of the program does not reflect the position of Cathay Pacific and we have immediately agreed to remove the program as soon as possible,” the newspaper quoted the airline as saying.
On June 4, 1989, Chinese soldiers commanded by Communist Party hardliners opened fire on thousands of protesters who had occupied Beijing’s central Tiananmen Square.
The enduring image of “Tank Man” has become a symbol of the bloody crackdown that Chinese authorities have gone to great lengths to erase from history since it took place. CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer visited the square 30 years after the repressionin 2019, and found nothing there to mention the events, and when she showed photos of the crackdown to young Chinese passers-by, including the “Tank Man” image, none of them recognized the images.
After unprecedented pro-democracy takeover of Hong Kong in 2019, authorities in the semi-autonomous Chinese region addressed dissentgathering hundreds of opposition and civil society representatives and quickly accepting new ones national security legislation consolidate Beijing’s control.
In November a A Hong Kong court indicted 47 peopleincluding some prominent democracy activists, for their involvement in unofficial primaries to select opposition candidates.
Cathay Pacific said it constantly informs the third-party company responsible for in-flight entertainment to ensure that the content offered meets airline standards, the South China Morning Post reported.
