{"id":1400807,"date":"2022-03-25T16:29:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T20:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1400807"},"modified":"2022-03-25T16:30:20","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T20:30:20","slug":"china-cancels-keanu-reeves-over-tibet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-cancels-keanu-reeves-over-tibet\/","title":{"rendered":"China Cancels Keanu Reeves over Tibet"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-cancels-keanu-reeves-over-tibet%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1400807&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>Chinese streaming services banned movies and videos featuring actor Keanu Reeves after he appeared in a virtual event hosted by Tibet House U.S., a nonprofit organization funded by the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama. Reeves\u2019 name has also reportedly disappeared from Chinese social media platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>China\u2019s erasure of Keanu Reeves was discovered on Friday by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/tech\/policy\/article\/3171893\/keanu-reeves-films-removed-chinese-video-sites-after-tibet-concert\"><span>Reuters<\/span><\/a><span>, which found that even Reeves\u2019 most popular films \u2013 blockbusters like <\/span><i><span>The Matrix, Speed, Bill &#038; Ted\u2019s Excellent Adventure, <\/span><\/i><span>and <\/span><i><span>John Wick \u2013<\/span><\/i><span>\u00a0have been removed from streaming services like Tencent Video and iQiyi. Searches for both the English and Chinese versions of Reeves\u2019 name produced no results on the popular WeChat messaging platform.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/business\/story\/2022-03-24\/china-streamers-scrub-keanu-reeves-titles-over-his-support-for-tibet\"><i><span>L.A. Times<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>discovered on Monday that almost all movies featuring Reeves have quietly vanished from the streaming libraries at Tencent, iQiyi, Youku, Migu Video, Bilbili, and Xigua Video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The incredibly petty Chinese censors decided not to ban <\/span><i><span>Toy Story 4, <\/span><\/i><span>in which Reeves voices a toy stuntman character named Duke Caboom \u2013 but they erased the credits for the English voice cast, naming only the local actors who performed the Chinese dub of the movie.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20380259\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/03\/1294086.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter \u201cBill &#038; Ted Face the Music.\u201d (United Artists Releasing)<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cWhy all of a sudden did they decide to take this measure at this exact moment? It\u2019s a question we as outsiders might never be able to answer. The system is so opaque that it\u2019s pretty much impossible to pinpoint which agency or person is responsible,\u201d U.S.-based researcher Alex Yu of China Digital Times told the <\/span><i><span>L.A. Times.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20380322\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2021-11-22-at-12.36.45-090106e.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20380322\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2021-11-22-at-12.36.45-090106e.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1240\" height=\"826\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Movie poster for \u201cThe Matrix Resurrections.\u201d (Warner Bros. Pictures)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Representatives for the Chinese streamers and social media platforms did not answer questions from Western reporters about the sudden decision to cancel Reeves, who has not been shy about his long-standing interest in Tibetan Buddhism \u2013 he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0107426\/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0\"><span>starred in a movie<\/span><\/a><span> on the subject in 1993 and was temporarily <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbncommunity.com\/keanu-reeves-gets-temporarily-ordained-in-tibetan-himalayas\/\"><span>ordained<\/span><\/a><span> as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan Himalayas in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Reeves has gone out of his way to work with communist censors to ensure his movies could be screened in China. In 2013, he told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/china\/archive\/2013\/11\/why-keanu-reeves-puts-up-with-chinese-censorship\/281040\/\"><i><span>The Atlantic<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>about removing scenes of underground fighting in Beijing from his film <\/span><i><span>Man of Tai Chi <\/span><\/i><span>because the censors insisted underground fighting does not exist in Beijing. He also sportingly reduced the number of times people got punched in the head during the film because Chinese censors apparently have limits on such things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Man of Tai Chi <\/span><\/i><span>was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/lifestyle\/entertainment\/article\/3139388\/keanu-reeves-martial-arts-movie-man-tai-chi-marked-high\"><span>touted<\/span><\/a><span> as a milestone in cooperation between Chinese and American production companies. It was the first film directed by Reeves, and while he appears in it, he uncharacteristically plays the sadistic villain. It did not fare as well as hoped at the Chinese box office, but Chinese audiences seemed to appreciate Reeves making the effort to create a movie for them, and giving the starring role to a real-life Chinese martial arts champion and personal friend of his, Tiger Chen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Most outside observers believe the obvious explanation for the banning of Reeves\u2019 movies is that he was a headline performer at the 35th annual <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thus.org\/benefit-concert\/\"><span>Tibet House U.S. Benefit Concert<\/span><\/a><span> on March 3. Reeves\u2019 contribution to the event was reading a poem co-written by Allen Ginsburg, who was a devoted participant in the Tibet House U.S. concert until his death in 1997.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20380385\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1129719211.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20380385\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1129719211.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1233\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Tibetan-Americans along with friends and supporters of Tibet gather to protest in front of the Consulate General of China in Los Angeles, California on March 10, 2019, to mark the 60th Global Tibetan National Uprising Commemorations. (FREDERIC J. BROWN\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Tibet House U.S. was founded in 1987 by supporters of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The Chinese Communist government views Tibet House U.S., like most organizations associated with the Dalai Lama, as a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-china-tibet\/china-vows-to-strike-against-separatism-on-tibet-uprising-anniversary-idUSKBN16H0RB\"><span>separatist threat<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20380394\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1167726683.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20380394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1167726683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (C) arrives for a long-life prayer offering dedicated to him at Tsuglagkhang Temple in McLeod Ganj on September 13, 2019. (LOBSANG WANGYAL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/keanu-reeves-china-backlash-1235083112\/\"><i><span>Hollywood Reporter<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>described Reeves coming under savage attack in Chinese social media by the \u201cLittle Pinks\u201d \u2013 hardcore Chinese nationalists \u2013 who demanded a retaliatory boycott of Reeves\u2019 most recent film, <\/span><i><span>The Matrix Resurrections.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cHow can Keanu Reeves not understand this and take part in a pro-Tibet independence concert? Aren\u2019t these celebrities afraid of losing the China market?\u201d whined one of the Little Pinks, as quoted by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2022\/film\/actors\/chinese-netizens-rage-at-keanu-reeves-over-tibet-1235164954\/\"><i><span>Variety<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>in late January, when the Tibet House U.S. concert was announced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe film [\u2018The Matrix Resurrections\u2019] can be taken down now. Get out of the Chinese market, thank you,\u201d snarled another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThese high school graduates in Hollywood can\u2019t even identify where Tibet is on the map, but they \u2018care\u2019 if people there are leading a good life,\u201d scoffed a third.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Other Little Pinks dismissed Reeves as a \u201chas-been\u201d and belligerently insisted \u201cTibet belongs to China.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the <\/span><i><span>Hollywood Reporter <\/span><\/i><span>impishly noted, <\/span><i><span>The Matrix Resurrections <\/span><\/i><span>had pretty much boycotted itself by that point, having earned a paltry $12.4 million at the Chinese box office, so the censors evidently decided to aim higher by wiping out Reeves\u2019 entire filmography.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><i><span>L.A. Times <\/span><\/i><span>noted most of the musicians who routinely participate in the annual Tibet House U.S. concert have not been banned from China.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Reeves might have been singled out for cancellation because he has a large and devoted Chinese fan following. Pop songs have been written about him, and Chinese social media users frequently share clips and memes from Keanu Reeves movies that were never even released in China. The Little Pinks were not punching down by taking him out.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese streaming services banned movies and videos featuring actor Keanu Reeves after he appeared in a virtual event hosted by Tibet House U.S., a nonprofit organization funded by the leader<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1400807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1400807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1400807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1400807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1400807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}