HBO.com is unavailable in China after John Oliver was blocked on Weibo for mocking China's President Xi Jinping.
Dennis Van Tine/Geisler-Fotopres/dpa/CorbisIt's not just John Oliver. Now, HBO is on the Chinese government's radar.
It appears that Chinese authorities blocked HBO's website after John Oliver criticized President Xi Jinping for censorship, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. HBO.com offers programming information but no shows. It's still blocked in China as of Tuesday, according to Greatfire.org, a censorship watchdog group.
The Chinese government is known for severe censorship and closely patrolling the internet. After John Oliver roasted Xi on his HBO show Last Week Tonight -- comparing Xi to the cartoon character Winnie the Pooh and mocking him for extending his term to serve as the president -- the comedian was barred from China's Twitter-equivalent Weibo.
HBO is largely inaccessible in China, but it has been selling shows, such as Game of Thrones and Band of Brothers, through Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s streaming service, according to Bloomberg. Although the shows reportedly haven't been affected, Tencent owns Weibo.
HBO didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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