Recently, Blizzard issued a statement about its on-going Hong Kong controversy that began when it bannedHearthstonePro Ng Wai Chung, better known as “Blitzchung,” for calling for the liberation of Hong Kong from the Chinese Community Party. Blizzard did walk back the punishment’s severity, cutting the ban time in half and restoring Blitzchung’s prize money, all of which solicited areply from Blitzchung.
However, Blitzchung’s sentiment hit home for severalHearthstoneplayers, who also used the game in a way to call for support of the Hong Kong movement. At least two figures have been banned fromHearthstoneforums for similar reasons as Blitzchung, with them being hit with a ban from the site for 1,000 years. The first, “Daros,” simply had posted an Imgur link with the attached statement: “By the way…Liberate Hong Kong.”
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The other, a user known as “Yega,” made a post on the Blizzard forum talking about the company’s censorship of Blitzchung and what seems to be a few other talking points about free speech. Just like Daros, Yega received a 1000 year ban from Blizzard. Neither will be able to once again post on the forum until October 3019. If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that Blizzard has not been entirely consistent on the matter, as around the same time, Blizzard chose not to ban anAmerican team that expressed Hong Kong support.
The posts were originally made prior to Blizzard’s statement concerning Blitzchung, so it’ll be interesting to see if the company also dials back on Daros' and Yega’s ban or simply leaves it as is. For many, the current on-goings can be confusing. Alongside the inconsistency when it comes to bans, theBlizzard official Chinese account vowed to protect the ‘national dignity’ of Chinashortly after the initial incident, seemingly contradicting Blizzard’s “it-has-nothing-to-do-with-China” response to the situation.
It remains to be seen if this situation escalates any further, but at least for now, Blizzard is planning ahead. It has promised some big announcements forBlizzcon 2019 after last year’s backlash, but it’s also worth adding that some gamers are planning a protest at the event in support of the Hong Kong movement.
