Disney yanks China-critical 'Simpsons' episode from Hong Kong streaming

The Walt Disney Company reportedly removed an episode of "The Simpsons" that criticized China from its streaming lineup in Hong Kong.

A nominally autonomous region, Hong Kong was governed by the United Kingdom until its handover to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Beijing's 2020 imposition of a national security law allowing for the extradition of certain criminals to the Chinese mainland for prosecution sparked considerable protests and a severe crackdown that has since undermined the city's self-government.

The episode in question involves Marge acquiring an exercise bike and taking a virtual tour of China during which she peruses various installations responsible for human rights atrocities such as forced labor camps.

"Behold the wonders of China. Bitcoin mines, forced labor camps where children make smartphones," the digital instructor declares during the virtual tour, according to Axios.

Disney reportedly feared that the episode's content would run afoul of the national security law and pulled the episode to avoid Chinese legal scrutiny, the outlet noted.

The Biden administration in January of this year announced that he would grant Hong Kong residents a two-year reprieve from deportation amid mounting human rights concerns in China.

Outside of the former British territory, China stands accused of other human rights violations, such as the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim-majority Uighurs in the northwestern Xinjiang province and the targeted elimination of minority languages in Inner Mongolia through mandatory Mandarin programs.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.