''Hong Kong Will Be Destroyed After 33 Years'' () is a
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
produced by a studio called GVA Creative. It was released on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in March 2014 and quickly went
viral
Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents).
Viral may also refer to:
Viral behavior, or virality
Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example:
* Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
.
Plot
The premise of the film is that a
meteor
A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space.
Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...
has been projected to destroy Hong Kong after 33 years (i.e., in 2047). The storyline details the subsequent reaction of local residents and the transformation Hong Kong undergoes leading up to the date of destruction.
Censorship
The film is an allusion to the changes that have taken place in the city since the 1997
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong
Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special admini ...
from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
to the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
; the 2047 meteor a metaphor for the real-world expiry of the autonomy afforded to Hong Kong within the
One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...
arrangement, and the uncertainty that follows.
The film was subsequently
banned in China by the
State Council Information Office
The State Council Information Office (SCIO; ) is the chief information office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. In 2014, SCIO was absorbed into the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
History ...
, a mainland propaganda authority, who ordered the removal from all websites of "video, text, etc. that advocates the short sci-fi film about Hong Kongers ‘saving themselves’ titled ''Hong Kong Will Be Destroyed in 33 Years''." ()
It was subsequently reported that mention of the film was suppressed on both
Baidu
Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the la ...
and
Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...
.
[
A spokesperson for the film's production studio responded that authorities were "keeping people away from knowing the truth, that China is trying to suffocate Hong Kong to death by importing Mainland Chinese into Hong Kong until there’s enough people for them to control the elections. After that, there will be no open elections in Hong Kong" and that "They don’t want people to be awake. We can’t stop them, but at least we want to let the world know: we’re dying. Soon, there will be no more Hong Kongers."][
]
See also
List of TV and films with critiques of Chinese Communist Party
This list shows TV and film content that includes at least one critique of the Chinese Communist Party's actions. The list helps to understand where censorship of content outside of China by its ruling party has taken place, and where it hasn't.
...
References
External links
*
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Cantonese-language films
Films set in Hong Kong
Films shot in Hong Kong
Hong Kong short films
2010s Hong Kong films