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Agence France-Presse

It was one Winnie the Pooh joke too far.
After mocking censors working overtime to delete comparisons of Chinese President Xi Jinping with the cartoon bear, comedian John Oliver and now the website of TV giant HBO have fallen victim to Beijing’s censorship machine.
Chinese authorities blocked HBO’s site in China, just days after Oliver took Xi to task, anti-censorship and monitoring group GreatFire.org said on Saturday.
The website was still not accessible on Monday.
HBO joins a long list of Western media outlets that have had their websites blocked in China including The New York Times, Facebook and Twitter.
China’s Twitter erases John Oliver after scathing attack on President Xi Jinping
“China: the country responsible for huge technological advances but it still can’t seem to get pandas to f***,” Oliver opened the episode of Last Week Tonight that is causing the problems.
Those technological advances include draconian surveillance and censorship measures that appear to have made HBO and Oliver their latest victims.

Oliver’s name and that of the show he hosts were censored on Weibo, the popular Twitter-like social media platform.
“Send failure” Weibo returned when Agence France-Presse attempted to post Oliver’s name.
“Content is illegal!” the service said.
YouTube, which also airs Last Week Tonight, has long been blocked in China.
Chinese holiday island to unlock Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for foreign visitors
Oliver’s segment dug into Xi’s distaste at comparisons to the self-described “bear of very little brain” and introduced viewers to repressive changes under way in the world’s most populous country.
Chinese internet users have often compared Xi to A.A. Milne’s most famous creation, something that censors have been quick to purge inside the Great Firewall.


The segment also recounted recent headlines: from Xi becoming “emperor for life” to a corruption purge that targeted his political rivals, to a crackdown on freedom of expression, human rights, and religion, to an ongoing suppression and imprisonment campaign against China’s Uygur ethnic minority.
“Xi is actively removing the post-Mao guardrails that were put in place,” Oliver said of changes to China’s constitution which allow him to remain in power indefinitely.
“China is becoming more authoritarian just as it has major plans for expansion onto the world stage,” he said as the segment neared an end.
“The era of do as we say may be dawning.”


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Censorship in China

China blocks HBO after John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight mockery of Xi Jinping

Authorities blocked HBO’s website in China so users just get an error message saying the content violates laws and regulations (rear screen) days after British comedian John Oliver took Chinese President Xi Jinping to task. Photo: AP

China's President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, June 14, 2018. (Fred Dufour/Pool Photo via AP)

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HBO joins a long list of Western media outlets that have had their websites blocked in China including The New York Times, Facebook and Twitter


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