Cathay Pacific apologises & deletes 'Family Guy' episode referencing Tiananmen Square incident after customer complaint

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific has removed an episode from American TV series "Family Guy" from its in-flight entertainment system.

The episode, which was removed after a customer complaint, contained a 7-second scene in which a joke was made about the Tiananmen Square incident.

The complaint was initially posted on social media.

The user suggested that the content could potentially breach national security legislation, reported the South China Morning Post.

In response to Mothership's queries, the airline apologised to affected customers for the incident.

It said it has informed the third-party service provider, which manages its in-flight entertainment system, to "thoroughly investigate the cause and... ensure that similar incidents do not occur in future".

"We emphasise that the content of the programme does not represent Cathay Pacific's standpoint, and have immediately arranged to have the programme removed as soon as possible," the airline said.

Wait, what legislation?

In 2020 and 2024, two pieces of national security legislation were passed in Hong Kong.

They prohibit crimes such as secession, subversion, and insurrection.

Last month, 47 pro-democracy activists were jailed after being charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the new laws.

The group included activists, legislators, campaigners, and councillors, according to The Guardian.

And as of Dec. 8, 2023, 291 arrests for "endangering national security" were made under the new legislation, according to SCMP.

Since 1997, Hong Kong has been part of China under a "one country, two systems" rule which protects the city's autonomy.

But in the past decade, a number of laws have been proposed and passed that threaten its freedoms.

In 2019, Beijing proposed an extradition bill which would allow Hong Kong suspects to be sent for trial in China.

This sparked a series of protests and mass demonstrations.

The bill was eventually withdrawn.

Top image from Cathay's website