Chinese Streamer iQiyi Seeks Funding as it Blocks Ukraine Coverage, Courts Controversy Over Korean Drama

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese streaming video platform iQiyi has announced plans to raise $285 million from a private placing of shares, part of which will be taken up by parent company Baidu.The move comes in the same week that the NASDAQ-listed company said it was suspending its weekend live broadcasts of English Premier League football (soccer) due to the sport’s public displays of solidarity with Ukraine.iQiyi is understood to have informed the Premier League that it would be removing the coverage following the league’s announcement that a “moment of reflection and solidarity” would be held before matches at the weekend.

Several teams also displayed armbands in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. In other instances, pro-Ukraine messaging was visible on in-stadium advertising boards.

It is not clear whether the company was instructed by the Chinese government to halt broadcasts or whether the move was an act of self-censorship in line with Chinese government policy.

iQiyi has not responded to Variety’s repeated enquiries.The Chinese government position on Ukraine is an awkward one. While China’s long-standing foreign policy emphasizes state sovereignty and non-interference in other countries’ domestic affairs, China recently allied itself even more closely with Russia whose cross-border military activity has jolted global economics and created new unity of purpose among many of China’s political and economic rivals.China has downplayed the conflict in Ukraine and resisted calling it a ‘war.’ Foreign Ministry spokesmen have blamed the U.S., Western European countries and the NATO military alliance for threatening Russia’s security and thus causing the war.