This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
German national Mesut Ozil, a midfielder for Arsenal, has been removed from Chinese versions of the popular Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) mobile game due to his comments on China's treatment of its Uighur minority.
On December 13, 2019, Ozil tweeted in Turkish about the alleged abuses against Uighurs in China's Xinjiang region, stating that Korans were being burnt, mosques were being shut down, and Muslim schools were being banned.
NetEase, the US-listed Chinese internet company that distributes the game in China, announced on its verified Chinese social media accounts that Ozil's comments had 'hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sport's spirit of love and peace.'
China has faced growing international condemnation for its treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, with rights groups and experts estimating that over one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps.
China's Communist Party has denied the existence of the camps, but later acknowledged them as vocational training centers.
Following Ozil's comments, Chinese state television dropped plans to broadcast Arsenal's match, and discussion of the topic is now heavily censored in China.
