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by hannasanarion
2438 days ago
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For real though, changing character design for things like skeletons because it has a different meaning in another culture is a perfectly normal thing to do. Changing characters to scrub them of LGBT characteristics that are illegal in another country is cowardly and should have caused a much bigger outrage than it did. Banning players for supporting pro-democracy movements outside the game and retroactively seizing their winnings is horrific. Nothing about their rules says they had to do this, it was entirely at their discretion. The chinese government didn't even threaten them over it. They chose to make an example of Blitzchung within minutes of his statement. They went above and beyond to endear themselves to the CCP. If they want to win their reputation back, heads need to roll, and if that means the loss of the chinese market, too bad. |
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Overtly. But this is a clear example of what is meant when people talk about the 'soft influence' which China seeks to develop. At the crude end of the scale, you have indoctrinated CCP people spreading out globally occupied in various positions able to exert leverage favorable to the party. At the more subtle end you have boards mindful of impacting their bottom line if they lose access to a large market.
What we're seeing here could be coming from either of those ends of the soft influence playbook. But no matter what, it's a clear example of the power of the approach, and how confounding it can become to resist it's effect.