A file photo of attendees playing Activision Blizzard Inc's Overwatch computer game at an eSports event in Tokyo, Japan. Blizzard Entertainment said it was banning Ng aka Blitzchung from its professional Hearthstone eSports competition for a year for expressing his support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters during a post-match interview. — Bloomberg
A unit of Activision Blizzard Inc has punished a player for expressing support for Hong Kong’s protest movement, the latest example of a US company attempting to rein in speech that might displease the Chinese communist party.
Blizzard Entertainment said it was banning Ng Wai Chung, also known as Blitzchung, from its professional Hearthstone eSports competition for a year. Blizzard is also withholding money he had already earned in the company’s top-tier Grandmasters tournament, which Ng said in a Twitter message cost him US$10,000 (RM41,935) of prize earnings. The move was triggered when Ng – dressed in a gas mask and goggles in defiance of authorities’ ban on face masks – used a slogan in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters during a post-match interview.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
