On this episode of China Uncensored,
what do you call a huge music festival
that tackles the issue of
oppression in China?
“Blacklisted.”
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored.
I’m your host, Chris Chappell.
You know, I don't like to brag,
but I'm known in certain circles
as a tastemaker.
An arbiter of style.
Someone with his finger
on the pulse of popular culture.
And take it from me,
the 90s are back.
Slap bracelets.
Crystal Pepsi.
Twin Peaks.
A music festival that raises awareness
about Chinese human rights abuses.
Uh, no,
not the Free Tibet concerts.
I’m talking about the Blacklisted
music and arts festival,
coming up in Los Angeles
on July 29.
It’s got a bunch of cool bands...
and two incredibly charismatic hosts.
I'm proud to be hosting Blacklisted
along with Miss World Canada,
Anastasia Lin.
After all,
for years I've been looking for a way
to combine my two favorite hobbies.
No, not deep sea fishing
and javelin throwing.
the Chinese Communist Party.
And of course because a festival
that tackles authoritarian censorship
and human rights abuses in China
is being held not in China,
but in Los Angeles,
everything is going great,
and there are no problems at all.
Haha, no not really.
Actually, the Blacklisted concert
just got blacklisted.
Funny story.
Back in December,
California State Parks had granted
the organizers of the festival
a permit to hold the event
for up to ten thousand people
at the Los Angeles State Historic Park,
which is on the edge of LA’s Chinatown.
They got permission,
coordinated with the Parks department,
lined up the bands,
and launched their promotional campaign.
But months later,
in mid-May,
the Parks department suddenly told
Blacklisted producer Nick Janicki
that he had to meet with the head
of the LA Chinatown Business Improvement District,
George Yu.
That meeting did not go well.
Janicki says Yu told him
that the event was anti-China—
and that the event can’t mention
things like Tibetan freedom,
slave labor,
environmental destruction,
and the most taboo subject of all,
Falun Gong.
Janicki told him basically:
Sorry,
we’re still gonna talk about this stuff,
especially Falun Gong.
The CCP is killing them for their organs.
It’s kind of a big deal
and we’re not going to keep silent.
Keep in mind that Blacklisted
is not a protest or march.
It’s a music and arts festival.
A few days later,
Mr. Yu sent Janicki this email
saying the LA Chinatown Business Improvement District
wouldn’t support the event,
because of its “anti-China sentiments”.
And he managed to get
the California State Parks department,
which operates the land,
to withhold their permit.
Basically, Blacklisted got repressed
for trying to raise awareness
about repression.
It's like Woodstock getting shut down
for being too peaceful.
Or Cochella getting shut down
for having too many celebrities.
So what could the organizers do?
Forget it, Jake.
It’s Chinatown.
So was the Chinese Communist Party,
working behind the scenes,
making menacing phone calls
to shut Blacklisted down?
Well, George Yu told my producer over the phone,
that’s not the case.
He said, quote,
“We have zero relationship
with the Chinese government.
Our responsibility is to our community.”
Well if that’s true,
it's actually scarier—
when you think about what it means.
Without any direct pressure
from the Chinese Communist Party,
a Taiwan-born American community leader
feels compelled to block an event
that calls for improving human rights in China,
because he’s concerned that
the Chinese community in Los Angeles
wouldn’t want the Communist Party's human rights abuses
to be exposed.
George Yu told LA Weekly in colorful language
that
“[Nick Janicki] wants to do an anti-China event.
Can you imagine having an anti-Mexican event
in Boyle Heights?
They’d kick his ass.”
Actually, no.
It would be like having an event
exposing the damage corrupt police and drug cartels
are doing to Mexico,
and calling that racist.
Janicki told us, quote,
“We have a moral and ethical obligation
to tell people about what’s happening in China.
We want a future where people
come before money,
and justice wins over greed.”
Yeah, that's terrible.
You know, for decades,
the Chinese Communist Party has been influencing
overseas Chinese communities
through the media.
They’ve been largely successful.
They’ve instilled the idea that the Communist Party
is China,
and that opposing the Party means
being anti-China.
Think about it.
That’s like saying being against Kim Jong-un’s regime
is the same as being anti-Korean.
Well, if the LA Chinatown Business Improvement
District
is afraid that exposing human rights abuses in China
would hurt the Chinese community,
so be it.
Janicki says that the Blacklisted festival
doesn’t want to hurt the Chinese community,
and so he’s not trying to get
the park permit back.
So Blacklisted may have gotten blacklisted
in Chinatown,
but it’s not getting shut down.
It’s just moving to a different location in Los Angeles.
A couple days ago
they signed a contract with The Reef—
a nearby venue that’s thrilled to host Blacklisted.
But all this does go to show you
that decades of propaganda has worked.
It’s convinced Chinese people overseas
that they should still support
the Chinese Communist Party—
and silence any voices that might want to
expose the Party’s problems.
And in this case,
it kind of backfired.
By trying to blacklist Blacklisted,
the LA Chinatown Business Improvement District
has given it even more publicity
than it had before.
Oh, delicious,
delicious irony.
So if you love China and hate repression,
you should come join me
in trolling the Communist Party
at Blacklisted in Los Angeles
on July 29.
Tickets are on sale now
on their website for a limited time.
The link is below.
And if you can’t make it to the concert,
help spread awareness
about the Chinese regime’s censorship—
by sharing this video on social media
with the hashtag #IAmBlacklisted
So what do you think
of the blacklisting of Blacklisted?
Leave your comments below.
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
Once again, I’m your host, Chris Chappell.
And I hope to see many of my 50-Cent Army
at the Blacklisted Music and Arts Festival
on July 29.
This is gonna be awesome.