
Overwatch's Mei Is Becoming a Symbol of the Hong Kong Resistance - otikik
https://kotaku.com/overwatchs-mei-is-becoming-a-symbol-of-the-hong-kong-re-1838899963
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elil17
This is a really smart strategy, and probably much more effective than a
simple boycott. If the HK supporters do manage to get Overwatch banned by
Chinese censors that will send an incredibly strong message to companies that
they risk losing their entire China market if they oppose Hong Kong. However,
I worry that the censors are smart enough to understand that this is a ploy.

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whatshisface
> _I worry that the censors are smart enough to understand that this is a
> ploy._

If they decide not to ban Overwatch, thinking that this Mei thing is a ploy,
HK gets to use a symbol that won't be banned. If they ban Overwatch, they send
a message to US companies that complying won't protect them. HK wins either
way. The best solution for China would be to instruct Blizzard to release a
version of Overwatch that didn't have this character, and if you want my
prediction that's what they're going to do.

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nexuist
Wouldn't the protesters simply pick another character to march behind?

The funny part is, if you go by the lore and backstories assigned to each
character, the majority of them _would_ support Hong Kong. None of them are
(written to be) particularly fond of authoritarianism.

Which is just hilarious that Blizzard's own IP would oppose their decision if
they were real people.

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jsgo
or even outside the Overwatch property.

World of Warcraft is filled with characters that'd side with Hong Kong.
Probably the most "symbol worthy" being Thrall from a lore standpoint.

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elil17
Hahaha - the end result would be Blizzard games with only villains

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DuskStar
Because none of the villains would support a popular uprising if it gave them
the chance to take power in the aftermath, of course...

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anilshanbhag
I have been reading r/hongkong on reddit for the past few months. The hong
kong protest will likely go down as one of the smartest protests ever - use of
lazers, memes, bluetooth based messaging, etc.

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himlion
Depends on how it ends, I just can't see any way for them to win. I fear China
will just slowly escalate their heavy handedness until nobody is left.

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pariahHN
That in itself may be considered a victory, depending on how far China is
pushed and how they respond. If the rest of the world won't/can't do business
with China anymore, that would be bad for China. HK's last ditch objective
could end up as goading China into chopping off it's own feet to put down the
protestors. A pyrrhic victory for sure, but still a victory in the long run.

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Loughla
That's an optimistic world-view. If they put down the protesters violently,
I'm not convinced it would really have an impact more than 6 months out. Maybe
I'm too cynical, but honestly, there don't really seem to be any negative
long-term repercussions for bad actors in today's world.

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onepointsixC
A HK crack down would be flash point which would force the hand of many
countries. European nations such as Germany have been trying to avoid taking
sides in order to preserve market access. Thus far the CCP have succeeded in
gradually degrading free societies ability to speak ill of them. A HK crack
down would force all who believe in liberal values to grow a spine.

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himlion
I hope so. I just don't see how relations wouldn't be slowly normalized again
within a year. I've seen very few lasting measures for bad actors. Even
Russia, which was responsible for the downing of MH17 killing 193 Dutch
citizens, is a major trading partner of the Netherlands.

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shifto
This still makes me angry and I don't know what I can do about it.

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yumraj
HK should just do the same with Xi and make him a symbol of HK resistance,
just like they're doing with Mei.

Maybe Chinese censors will then ban Xi.

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finn319
Haha, clever. I have the same thought.

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alexghooper
Lets hope she doesn't get banned from the game /s

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joe-collins
This prompted a thought: did Blizzard take the action they did because China
threatened to withdraw its players from the Overwatch League? That would kill
entire teams in that esport, and be much more visible than merely losing
ordinary players.

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ng12
There's only one Chinese-majority team (which, oddly enough, also has the only
Taiwanese player). In total it's probably less than a dozen players.

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mutagen
Incoming subtle nerfs (or buffs to other characters) to shift the meta away
from any usage so there's no controversy, no chance of anything Mei being used
in a tournament.

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finn319
Internet can easily turn another character to the next symbol XD

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testflight135
Lot of people don’t understand is that it’s not Chinese government vs Hong
Kong public but Chinese mainland public vs Hong Kong public. The easiest
solution for Chinese mainland public would be also create fan art for Mei to
claim Hong Kong will always be part of China and fighting against all the
rioters in Hong Kong. Billizard wouldn’t need to do anything at this point and
Mei will become a hero image in mainland China as well.

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teilo
Ignorant westerner here. Is this a recognizable symbol to Hong Kong residents
in general, or only to the much smaller gaming subculture (assuming that it
is, in fact, much smaller)? I mean, I know e-Sports is much bigger in the
east, but is it that much bigger relative to the populace as a whole?

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0b01
This is in fact free publicity for Overwatch. Wouldn't be surprised if there's
a boost in sales in the next quarter. I have no problem with it since it's one
of the greatest games ever made.

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finn319
Wow, then the internet just take whatever famous symbol in China and turns it
to HongKong symbol, China have to ban it all. Haha. First is the Winnie the
pool, then Mei, what's next?

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ETHisso2017
In all likelihood, Blizzard will probably increase in game moderation to
eliminate this kind of messaging.

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Simon_says
How would that help? Winnie the Pooh could have had all the in-cartoon
moderation it wanted and it's still mocking Xi.

