Why has South Park been banned in China and what happens in its latest episode?

South Park’s never been one to shy away from controversy – but the ever-popular adult cartoon series might just have taken things to another level with its latest episode.

In fact the instalment in question, from the show’s 23rd series, has fallen foul of the Chinese government to the extent that they’re reportedly deleted virtually all content from and relating to the show from local internet servers.

Just what was the episode about and why has it caused issues?

Here’s what you need to know…

What happens in the latest episode of South Park?

The episode, entitled Band In China, featured a pair of storylines critical of the country.

One involves Stan’s dad Randy getting caught attempting to sell weed in the country and getting sent to a work camp which bears a resemblance to those Beijing has been using in Xinjiang Province to hold up to a million Chinese Muslims for political indoctrination.

Matters are further complicated when he runs into Winnie The Pooh who is also imprisoned there.

A second plot sees Stan, Jimmy, Kenny and Butters forming a metal band who become popular and attract the attention of a manager who wants to make a film about them – although the script keeps changing in order to allow the film to be distributed in China.

Why has the episode been banned in China?

The episode appears to have fallen foul of Chinese authorities over its portrayal of Chinese censorship, and how Hollywood tends to shape its content to enable it to be shown in the country.

The appearance of Winnie The Pooh is also controversial, given that the loveable cartoon bear has also been banned in China after people became comparing him to president Xi Jinping in memes.

Those searching for South Park on China’s social media site Weibo have been given a message saying ‘no relevant results have been found’ – while the show also apepars to have been removed from other local video websites including Youku, iQiyi, le.com and Bilibili.

While search engine Baidu still shows results for South Park, they are mainly related to old news stories.

What have Trey Parker and Matt Stone said about the ban?

The pair have ‘apologised’ to China in their own inimitable style, with a tweet along with a link to the episode.

‘Like the NBA we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn’t look just like Winnie the Pooh at all.’

‘Long live the Communist Party of China! May this autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?’

Of course it’s not the first time the pair have caused controversy with the show’s outrageous antics.

Last year saw the series raise eyebrows with their take on abuse in the Catholic church.

Oh and let’s not forget the times they took potshots at Roseanne Barr and Tom Cruise, not to mention the time they tackled the issue of school shootings in the US.

Has the episode aired in the UK?

The episode has been aired on Comedy Central in the UK, which is currently showing the new series of South Park on Friday nights at 10pm.

If you missed it you can catch up via Sky’s on-demand streaming service.

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