Chloe Zhao, the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for Best Director, has been censored by the Communist Party’s official media, which has not only censored her posts, but even cut off the VPN to watch the ceremony. Why did Zhao Ting go from being a “favorite” of the official media to being blocked? The reason is that she made a comment that annoyed the Chinese Communist Party.
On April 25, Chinese director Zhao Ting’s film Nomadland (No Country, No Place to Live) won three Oscars in 2021, including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Actress, setting a new record for the Academy.
However, news of Zhao Ting’s win was blocked by the Chinese Communist Party on the mainland, with Voice of America reporting that the Chinese Ministry of Propaganda asked official media to keep their coverage of the Oscars low and to cancel live broadcasts. After Zhao Ting was announced as the winner of the award, no major mainland portal sites have pushed the news in time, and if Sina Weibo searches for the keyword “Zhao Ting”, only posts from before mid-March are available.
Reuters reported that on the day of the Oscars, about 30 alumni of Zhao Ting’s alma mater gathered at a bar in Shanghai to watch a live YouTube broadcast of the ceremony, but the event organizer’s virtual private network (VPN) was blocked for nearly two hours by the Communist Party’s Great Firewall.
“They [Chinese Communist authorities] cut off the VPN,” said the organizer, who added that his account was shut down after he posted a post on WeChat praising Zhao Ting.
The Nomadic Life” stars Frances McDormand as the heroine who loses everything after the town’s economy collapses and decides to embark on a wandering journey in the Midwest. She makes friends during her displacement and relearns the meaning of life and freedom. McDormand also won the Best Actress award for her work.
“A country full of lies”
Last September, Zhao Ting was once cheered by the Chinese Communist Party’s official media for winning the Golden Lion, the highest honor of the Venice Film Festival, and the Global Times, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, even called her “The pride of China.”
However, it was later discovered that Zhao Ting had mentioned in a 2013 interview with Filmmaker magazine that “China is a country full of lies,” which immediately drew criticism for what it called “insulting China,” and the Chinese Communist Party began to treat Zhao Ting with indifference.
In accepting the award, Zhao Ting referred to China’s “Three Character Classic” and said she deeply felt the concept of “the goodness of man at the beginning of his life. “I dedicate this award to someone who has shown faith and courage to cherish their own goodness and remain good to each other, no matter how difficult it may be.” She said as she held up her Golden Statue Award trophy.
Born in Beijing, Zhao Ting studied in London during her secondary school years, political science in the United States during her university years, and then studied for a master’s degree in film at New York University. She is the stepdaughter of well-known mainland actress Song Dandan, and her father is Zhao Yuji, former general manager of the well-known state-owned Capital Steel Corporation.
In addition, 73-year-old South Korean actress Yoon Eui-jeong won the Best Supporting Actress award for “Land of Dreams” (Minari), becoming the first Korean actress to win an Oscar, which was hailed by the Korean media.
The documentary “No Cut”, based on Hong Kong’s “anti-China” movement, was also nominated for an Oscar this year, but for the first time in decades, Hong Kong did not broadcast this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. This is seen as the latest example of Hong Kong’s further descent into tyranny under the strong suppression of the Chinese Communist Party.
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