Long-running animated series South Park has issued a mock apology for its recent episode "Band in China" that made fun of China's censorship.

The episode also mocked Hollywood for adjusting its content to get around censors put in place by the Chinese government.

Sorry, but not really

The apology, posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday, Oct. 8 (Singapore time) came after the show was scrubbed from the Chinese intranet.

It referenced the incident in which the NBA (National Basketball Association) released an apology in both English and Chinese, after Daryl Morey, the general manager of Houston Rockets, tweeted his support for the anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming was a former Rockets player, making the team one of the most popular NBA teams in China.

The tweet has resulted in Chinese businesses suspending ties with the team.

South Park also referenced China's censorship of the Winnie the Pooh imagery if it is associated with politically sensitive persons or events.

The Disney movie Christopher Robin was not allowed to play in Chinese cinemas in 2018.

In addition, the Comedy Central series mocked foreign companies for bending to the Chinese government's political views in order to continue doing business in China, saying, "We too love money more than freedom and democracy."

Makes fun of everything

The South Park series is known to satirise a large range of topics, including political events such as the election of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Censorship is a theme that has been frequently covered.

You can watch the full Chinese intranet-banned episode here:

Top image via South Park S23E02 & South Park/FB