Director’s Oscars party in Shanghai runs afoul
VPN service blocked for nearly two hours
SHANGHAI • A livestream of the Academy Awards in Shanghai hosted by alumni of Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao’s alma mater ran into China’s Great Firewall, with the organizer saying access to his virtual private network (VPN) service was blocked for nearly two hours.
Beijing-born Zhao, whose critical 2013 comment on China (“It goes back to when I was a teenager in China, being in a place where there are lies everywhere”) resurfaced after her nomination, sparking backlash in the country, was named best director for Nomadland, making her the first Asian woman to win the category in the award’s 93-year history.
The Recession-era tale about a community of van dwellers in America also won Oscars for best picture and best actress, for Frances Mcdormand. About 30 people had gathered at a small bar on
IT GOES BACK TO WHEN I WAS A TEEN IN CHINA ... LIES EVERYWHERE.
The Bund, a historic district in central Shanghai, to support Zhao and watch the awards live on Youtube.
The screening, hosted by New York University alumni, didn’t start until organizer Kevin Ke got his VPN service to work.
The Cyberspace Administration of China didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The awards show wasn’t broadcast in China, where Zhao’s success has triggered an awkward mix of pride and censorship.
Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a tabloid run by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, tweeted congratulations.
“She is an excellent director. As a Chinese born in Beijing striving in the U.S., the tense China-us ties may bring some troubles to her. Hopefully she will become more and more mature in handling those troubles.”
In her Oscar speech, Zhao said she believed people were inherently good.
“Even though sometimes they might seem like the opposite is true, but I have always found goodness in the people I met everywhere I went in the world.”