Hearthstone Grandmasters player Ng “blitzchung” Wai Chung had his interview deleted off of Blizzard Taiwan’s Twitch channel after he chose to use the platform to make a political statement.
After his match, blitzchung surprised spectators when he appeared on Hearthstone’s Taiwanese stream wearing a gas mask. But it was what he said once he lifted the mouthpiece that truly shook up the interview.
“Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!” he exclaimed in Chinese.
Upon hearing those words, the casters ducked behind their desks to avoid being associated with the strong political statement. The production team then cut to an ad break. The entire day’s worth of VODs and interviews were also removed from Twitch.
blitzchung reached out to Inven Global with a statement:
“As you know there are serious protests in my country now. My call on stream was just another form of participation of the protest that I wish to grab more attention. I put so much effort in that social movement in the past few months, that I sometimes couldn’t focus on preparing my Grandmaster match.”
The Hong Kong-based Hearthstone player also added that he knew his statement could cause him a lot of trouble, including “personal safety in real life.” But he felt it was his duty to get the message out there, no matter the risk.
blitzchung joins Hong Kong in protest
Hong Kong residents wearing surgical masks began to form protests throughout the city starting in June. The civil unrest was spurred by a proposed bill that would allow Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to China, potentially in violation of their basic freedoms.
Protesters felt this was a way to “legally kidnap” Hong Kong-based individuals who have spoken out against Beijing. These people would have to face the Chinese legal system if the bill passed. Known for torturing their critics, Hong Kong residents feared that this law put many of their citizens in danger.
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam withdrew the bill on September 4, but not fully. The protests escalated as Hong Kong demanded that Lam step down from her position. Riot police excessively use tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters, who often throw bricks and glass at the police.
“Hongkongers resist!” can be heard chanted throughout the blocked streets.
