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Moviematic, which had organised a screening of
the film for Tuesday evening, reported the cancellation on its
social media page. Several other websites and media also
reported the cancellation of the screenings.
The movie's distributor in Hong Kong, VII Pillars Entertainment,
did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A
ticket-booking link on its Facebook page brought up a message
saying ticketing was temporarily unavailable.
Chinese censors have in the past targeted the film’s main
character, originally conceptualised by English author A.A.
Milne, due to memes that compare the bumbling bear to President
Xi Jinping.
The comparisons began in 2013 when Xi visited the United States
and met his then counterpart Barack Obama and some online
commentators seized on their likeness to Pooh and Tigger.
Some people have used the image of Pooh to signal dissent.
Hong Kong's government did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
A new censorship law in the former British colony came into
effect in 2021. Some films have been prevented from being shown
in the Chinese special administrative region.
The city's censorship law bars films that "endorse, support,
glorify, encourage and incite activities that might endanger
national security".
Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020
after the city was rocked by anti-government protests. The law
sets out punishment for anything deemed subversion, secession,
colluding with foreign forces and terrorism.
Two films were dropped from Hong Kong's international film
festival last year after failing to get approval from
authorities.
The cancellation comes as Hong Kong hosts the Art Basel
contemporary art fair with authorities keen to promote the city
as a vibrant cultural hub.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Farah Master; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
(Photo: A parade participant in a Winnie the
Pooh costume waves a Chinese flag before the Lunar New Year
parade celebrating the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinatown
neighborhood of New York, U.S., February 12, 2023. REUTERS/Bing
Guan)
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