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Strategy Videogame Upsets Chinese, Gets Banned

Posted by simoniker on from the hearts-of-irony dept.

An anonymous reader writes "China's State News Agency, Xinhua reports that China's Ministry of Culture has banned a computer game for 'distorting history and damaging China's sovereignty and territorial integrity'. Paradox's PC strategy game 'Hearts of Iron', was accused of distorting historical facts in describing Manchuria, West Xinjiang, and Tibet as independent sovereign countries in the maps of the game. 'All these severely distort historical facts and violate China's gaming and Internet service regulations,' the Ministry's Game Products Censorship Committee said. 'The game should be immediately prohibited.' [via China Digital]"

3 of 711 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe they just don't like the truth... by seanmcelroy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Tibet *was* an independent sovereign nation before China took it over. Just because you don't like being known as a bully doesn't mean you aren't one.

    --
    Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. -Thomas Cardinal Wolsey
  2. Re:understand by 1u3hr · · Score: 5, Informative
    bottom line, i don't agree with it, but it isn't ridiculous, they do have a point.

    It IS ridiculous, because they complain that: 'Moreover, "Manchuria", "West Xinjiang", and "Tibet" appeared as independent sovereign countries in the maps of the game. In addition, it even included China's Taiwan province as the territory of Japan at the beginning of the game."

    Well, Taiwan WAS a Japanese colony in 1936, (following the 1894 Sino-Japanese war Taiwan was ceded to the Japanese) and Tibet WAS independent till 1959 when China invaded it.

  3. Perhaps for Tibet, but... by Vthornheart · · Score: 5, Informative
    many of those other regions were by no means independant during World War II. Manchuria, for example, was immediately taken by Japan in WWII and became a pseudo-country known as Manchukuo, but was technically a territory of Japan.

    And Xinjiang was *CERTAINLY* not an independant nation at any time, ever. It has always been considered an "autonomous region" along with a great portion of that western side of China, but it is by no means independant. It still functions under the rules and mandates of the Chinese government(s), and has done so for the past 2200 years.

    So I believe that, although their action because of it was a bit extreme, they were at least correct in their reasoning for two of the states. The first one, Tibet, was indeed an independant soverignty until 1950, and so should not have been on that list. (of course, the propaganda surrounding the Tibetan situation with China is such that they would like people to believe otherwise)

    And as a final, humorous note... should the United States censor Risk, that divides our country into five partitions. =)

    --
    -Vendal Thornheart