Blizzard Entertainment Hearthstone Issue

[IceJad]

I'm not sure whether to put it under the current event or gamer zones but what I'm certain is that I want to hear your opinions.

For those in the dark here is the TL;DR.

Hearthstone a Blizzard Entertainment (US video game company) online card game held a competition in Taiwan where a Hong Konger called BlitzChung won. In the post match interview he uttered "Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our age" in Mandarin with permission from the Taiwanese casters. Given the current anti-China protest in Hong Kong, Blizzard punished him by suspending him for 1 year from future tournament and fired the two casters from all future dealings. A punishment Blizzard reduced to 6 months suspension for the player and casters after an intense backlash from not only gamers but politicians and ordinary people.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

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[High Fidelity]

I think it's hypocritical of people getting up in arms over this.

China has been oppressing Hong Kong for weeks now with violence. Their leader recently just said any dissent against China will result in broken bones and crushed bodies. Yet people are annoyed by what Blizzard did?

People don't seem to care that the things they're using to communicate their frustrations were almost exclusively manufactured in China under lousy labour laws that exploit workers in environments that wouldn't be legal anywhere else in the developed world.

People need to get a grip.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

I wonder if they'll cancel Blizzcon this year. There's no way the crowd won't try to pull some pro Hong-Kong stunt and make Blizzard look bad to their Chinese overlords. This year could be even more meme worthy than last year's 'do you guys not have phones," question.

I think the effect of this is great. It's forcing people to realize that opening the market to China and having cheap consumer goods has an impact on businesses in western countries who will necessarily have to self-censor themselves in order to remain active within China. Hong Kong is exposing the world world to China's treatment of it's people, Chinese censorship and the Uyghurs.

Personally, all this has made me do is commit to not buying Warcraft 3 remastered. Shame because it looked decent.

 

[IceJad]

I think it's hypocritical of people getting up in arms over this.

China has been oppressing Hong Kong for weeks now with violence. Their leader recently just said any dissent against China will result in broken bones and crushed bodies. Yet people are annoyed by what Blizzard did?

People don't seem to care that the things they're using to communicate their frustrations were almost exclusively manufactured in China under lousy labour laws that exploit workers in environments that wouldn't be legal anywhere else in the developed world.

People need to get a grip.

I think the issue is not so much what China has done or is currently doing to Hong Kong. What's more worrying are companies from other countries have become proxies for China to extend its influence to curtail freedom else where.

A good example is Blizzard, they have no issue standing on a political issue like LGBT. Issue which is safe. But bend over backwards to remain "neutral" in politics when China becomes the subject. The access to the Chinese market is tightly controlled by the Chinese government. And that is a rich market to tap into. To get in many companies become beholden to the laws there even when conducting business in their native country.

 

[IceJad]

Personally, all this has made me do is commit to not buying Warcraft 3 remastered. Shame because it looked decent.

I was looking forward to it as well but now no longer. Although I thought that the story jumped the shark by shifting from Horde vs Alliance of WC2 to everyone vs Burning Legion in WC3.

 

[High Fidelity]

I think the issue is not so much what China has done or is currently doing to Hong Kong. What's more worrying are companies from other countries have become proxies for China to extend its influence to curtail freedom else where.

A good example is Blizzard, they have no issue standing on a political issue like LGBT. Issue which is safe. But bend over backwards to remain "neutral" in politics when China becomes the subject. The access to the Chinese market is tightly controlled by the Chinese government. And that is a rich market to tap into. To get in many companies become beholden to the laws there even when conducting business in their native country.

This is nothing new though. Western countries sell weapons to places like Saudi Arabia, for example.

 

[-Luca]

Please can someone explain to me what is happening in China right now? I always see lots of riots and people getting beaten by the police...

 

[IceJad]

Please can someone explain to me what is happening in China right now? I always see lots of riots and people getting beaten by the police...

Well it's always better to read on your own. However here is the TL;DR.

Started with an extradition bill Hong Kong legislature tried to push through which will allow the government to extradite people wanted in territories outside of Hong Kong which includes mainland China. The main sentiment of the Hong Kongers is that the mainland Chinese government will use this bill to extradite people critical of them to be trialed in Chinese courts which they believe will be biased in favor of the Chinese government.

The protest initially began as a movement to get the Hong Kong government to drop the bill. However the government gave vague statements which further increases the suspicion that they will pass the bill when the protests died down. So the protests became more intense.

Then the protests grew violent. Protesters and the police began engaging in violence. Here depending who you ask you will get different answers. Some will say police brutality in suppressing the protest caused the protesters to retaliate in violence. Others will say because protesters grew violent that the police became more heavy handed.

The Hong Kong government stayed their position for quite some time. Begin to label protesters as rioters and refuse to take action on what the protesters deem as police brutality. Seeing this the protesters came up with the 5 demands for them to call of the protests.

The demands are:
1. Complete withdrawal of the extradition bill from the legislative process
2. Retraction of the "riot" characterization of the protesters
3. Release and exoneration of arrested protesters
4. Establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into police conduct and use of force during the protests
5. Resignation of Carrie Lam (Chief Executive) and the implementation of universal suffrage for elections.

So only demand 1 has been met and the Hong Kong government with the support from mainland Chinese government will not give in to any further demands. The protesters are not budging either. And the violence between protesters and police continues. The protests have now morphed into a multi-headed monster with different factions demanding different things.

In between there are many things that have happened. Too long to begin listing. But ultimately this protest is the by product of what Hong Kongers feel are their ever eroding freedoms by the mainland Chinese government. Which is a giant topic in and of itself