Tencent’s film unit heeds Beijing’s call for ‘social responsibility’ in shift to patriotic content
- The move is another sign that China’s Big Tech firms are heeding Beijing’s request to pull back from heavily regulated sectors such as media, finance and content
- Tencent is no stranger to patriotic content, producing 13 such titles last year, including the hit feature 1921 that celebrated the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party
Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings will reorganise its in-house film production unit to focus on “shouldering social responsibility” instead of making money, Chinese media outlet Jiemian reported.
Tencent Pictures, the film unit of China’s video gaming and social media giant, will be moved to the company’s Corporate Development Group from the Platform and Content Group as part of a reshuffle, according to the report.
The change means Tencent Pictures will shift away from investing in popular domestic television shows and Hollywood blockbusters, and instead produce more patriotic content that promotes “core socialist values” preached by the Chinese Communist Party.
The move marks another sign that China’s Big Tech firms are heeding Beijing’s request to pull back from heavily regulated sectors such as media, finance and content production.
Pony Ma Huateng, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Tencent, said the company would respond to the needs of the state and insist “on the use of technology for good”, according to a statement published by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Thursday.
Two Tencent sources, who declined to be named as the matter was not public, confirmed the reshuffle.
Tencent declined to comment on the report.
