Oscar Will Not Be Broadcast In Hong Kong For The First Time Since 1969

JAKARTA - The Oscars will not be broadcast in Hong Kong for the first time in more than half a century, as doubts over whether the prestigious Hollywood award will air in mainland China.

The Oscar awards show has been showing in Hong Kong every year since 1969 on the TVB channel. But next month no television channel has confirmed it will air the Oscars.

"The reason for not showing the Oscars this year is purely a commercial decision," a TVB spokesman told AFP reported by Antara, Tuesday, March 30.

The decision was made after Bloomberg News reported that the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda department had ordered state-controlled media not to over-cover the Oscar and not broadcast the award live.

The nominations for Do Not Split, a short documentary about pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, as well as four nominations for Chinese-born US director Chloe Zhao for Nomadland are believed to be the cause.

State media have run critical articles about the documentary while online nationalists have attacked Zhao for comments he made several years ago that were deemed critical of China.

State television network CCTV, which previously aired the Oscars, has not confirmed whether this year's Oscars will air.

All media in China bypasses strict censorship Hong Kong has more freedom under the "One country, two systems" model. But the atmosphere changed rapidly. After frequent violent protests in 2019, Beijing has moved against the opposition, including enacting a city-wide national security law.

The pro-democracy opposition has been silenced, but the law has penetrated culture.

In recent weeks, cinemas have withdrawn documentaries about rallies, a university canceled a media photography exhibition, while a contemporary art museum that will open said it would allow security authorities to inspect its collections.