China Orders Media Outlets Not to Air the Oscars Live Over Nomination of Hong Kong Protest Documentary

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China has ordered media outlets not to air a live broadcast of this year’s Oscars over the nomination of a documentary chronicling the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

The Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department issued the directive, which includes limiting coverage of the awards show overall.

Outlets were told that their Academy Awards coverage should focus on non-controversial nominees.

The move is believed to be in response to the nomination of the film, Do Not Split, which is up for Best Documentary Short Subject.

The doc is told from the perspective of the demonstrators who protested a proposed bill allowing the Chinese government to extradite criminal suspects to mainland China. The demonstration, also known as the “pro-democracy protests,” escalated into violent clashes with the Hong Kong police.

Do Not Split isn’t the only Oscar nomination that’s fueling controversy in China. Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao, who’s nominated for Best Director for the film Nomadland, received backlash in China after issuing statements that appeared to be critical of her country. In a 2013 interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Zhao described China as “a place where there are lies everywhere.”

Sources close to state television network CCTV, the home of the Oscars in China, told The Hollywood Reporter that a decision has yet to be made about whether to air the awards ceremony as usual this year.