The premiere of Game of Thrones‘ season 8 premiere was welcomed with raving reviews and broke many records but those living in China weren’t treated with the same premiere as the rest of the world, as usual.
Around six-minutes of scenes containing sex and gore were censored in the final season’s debut episode. With HBO blocked in China, only Tencent, the local tech giant, has the legal rights to stream the series on its website and app. However, the runtime of the Chinese GoT was only 48 minutes as opposed to the actual 54 minutes shown everywhere else.
Local Chinese fans obviously fumed at the move, taking their angst on social media. One viewer wrote– “I’m willing to pay Tencent for this show, but how can I watch when they cut so many scenes”? Users said that with the censorship, they’d rather have the movie downloaded online.
China’s love for censorship is not new. Even in Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie’s gay scenes were removed including the scene when Freddie Mercury reveals he’s gay. Even the part when Mercury reveals he has AIDS was muted. China’s Government censorship woes continue and it doesn’t seem to end anytime soon.
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