HONG KONG — An episode of “The Simpsons” that ridicules Chinese government censorship appears to have been censored on Disney’s newly launched streaming service in Hong Kong, adding to fears about the shrinking space for free expression and criticism in this city.

香港——美国动画片《辛普森一家》(The Simpsons)中嘲笑中国政府审查制度的一集，似乎在迪士尼于香港新近推出的流媒体服务平台上遭遇了审查，这加剧了人们对香港自由表达和批评空间日益缩小的担忧。

Other episodes of the show are available on Disney+, which made its much-anticipated debut in Hong Kong this month. But in season 16, the archive skips directly from episode 11 to episode 13, omitting episode 12, “Goo Goo Gai Pan,” in which the Simpson family travels to Beijing.

备受期待的Disney+本月登陆香港，《辛普森一家》的其他集在平台上仍可观看。但该剧的第16季直接从第11集跳到了第13集，略去了辛普森一家去北京旅行的第12集《咕咕鸡饭》。

There, they visit the embalmed body of Mao Zedong, whom Homer Simpson calls “a little angel that killed 50 million people.” In another scene, the family passes through Tiananmen Square, where a plaque says “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened” — a jab at the Chinese government’s attempts to suppress public memory of the massacre, in which the army opened fire on students and other pro-democracy protesters.

辛普森一家在北京参观经防腐处理的毛泽东遗体时，荷马·辛普森称毛泽东是“杀死了5000万人的小天使”。另一个场景是这家人走在天安门广场，广场上有一块写着“1989年这里什么都没发生”的牌匾，对中国政府试图控制“六四”大屠杀的公众记忆进行抨击，解放军在那次大屠杀中射杀了学生和其他支持民主的抗议者。

Concerns about censorship have grown rapidly in Hong Kong since last June, when Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law to crush monthslong anti-government protests. Hong Kong, a former British colony, was promised at least 50 years of civil liberties after its return to Chinese control in 1997. But under the law, many of those liberties have vanished, with news outlets muzzled, songs banned and museums closely regulated.

自从去年6月，中央政府为平息香港长达数月的反政府抗议活动，在香港实施涉及范围广泛的国家安全法以来，对审查制度的担忧在香港迅速增加。香港曾是英国殖民地，1997年回归中国后，中央政府曾承诺让香港保留公民自由至少50年。但在国安法下，这些自由中有许多已经消失，新闻媒体变成了“喉舌”，歌曲被禁，博物馆受到密切控制。

The government this year also expanded its film censorship powers, enabling it to block distribution of films, domestic or foreign, that it deemed to undermine national security.

香港政府今年还扩大了电影审查权，让政府能禁止其认为有碍国家安全的港产或进口电影的发行。

It was not clear whether Disney chose to omit the “Simpsons” episode, which first aired in 2005, or was asked to do so by government regulators. Disney did not respond to an inquiry, and Hong Kong’s communications authority declined to comment. But the bureau of commerce and economic development said in a statement that the film censorship ordinance applies only to movies, not streaming services.

《辛普森一家》于2005年首播，目前尚不清楚迪士尼略去该剧第16季中的这一集是公司的选择，还是应政府监管机构的要求。迪士尼没有回复记者的询问，香港通讯事务管理局也拒绝置评。但香港商务及经济发展局在一份声明中说，电影审查条例只适用于电影，不适用于流媒体服务。

That suggests that Disney pre-emptively censored itself, said Grace Leung, an expert in media regulation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

香港中文大学研究媒体监管的专家梁丽娟说，迪士尼的做法暗示，该公司是在进行自我审查，以避免引起中国政府不满。

“Disney obviously sent out a clear signal to the local audience that it will remove controversial programs in order to please” the Chinese government, Dr. Leung said. “Their credibility will definitely be hurt.”

“迪士尼显然向当地观众发出了一个明确的信号，那就是，为了取悦（中国政府），它会删除有争议的节目，”梁丽娟说。“公司的信誉肯定会受到伤害。”

Still, she acknowledged that any potential loss in Hong Kong would most likely be far offset by the benefits of appeasing the mainland authorities. “The population is not so big,” she said of the city. “They are ready to sacrifice Hong Kong’s market.”

尽管如此，梁丽娟承认，迪士尼在香港的任何潜在损失很可能会被安抚大陆当局带来的好处大幅抵消。“这里人口没那么多，”她谈到香港时说。“该公司准备牺牲香港市场。”

Disney, and Hollywood more broadly, have made no secret of their appetite for the enormous mainland Chinese market. Disney in particular has frequently drawn criticism for its perceived willingness to make capitulations in order to reach it.

迪士尼和更广泛意义上的好莱坞都毫不掩饰对中国大陆巨大市场的渴望。因为愿意为进入这个市场做出让步，迪士尼尤其经常受到批评。

Its live-action remake of “Mulan,” released last year, faced widespread calls for boycotts because its credits thanked eight government entities in Xinjiang, the far western region in China where the government has been harshly suppressing the Uyghur ethnic minority. Parts of the movie had been filmed there.

该公司去年推出的真人版《花木兰》曾面临广泛的抵制呼声，因为该片的片尾字幕感谢了新疆的八个政府部门。中国政府一直在西部边远地区新疆严厉镇压维吾尔少数民族。这部电影有部分在当地拍摄。

In 1998, Disney’s chief executive at the time, Michael Eisner, apologized to the Chinese premier for producing the Martin Scorsese film “Kundun,” about Chinese oppression of the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama; Mr. Eisner called the movie a “stupid mistake.” In 2016, filmmakers on “Doctor Strange” rewrote a Tibetan character as Celtic — in part to avoid offending the Chinese government, according to a screenwriter.

1998年，迪士尼当时的首席执行官迈克尔·艾斯纳曾向中国总理道歉，因为公司支持了马丁·斯科塞斯的电影《达赖的一生》，该片讲述了中国压制西藏人民和达赖喇嘛的故事。艾斯纳称该片是个“愚蠢的错误”。2016年，《奇异博士》的制片人将片中一个藏人角色改为凯尔特人，据一位编剧表示，此举背后的部分原因是为了避免冒犯中国政府。

Disney+ is not yet available in mainland China, though the company has said it plans to launch in “all major countries.”

Disney+目前还没有在中国大陆推出，但公司已表示计划在“所有主要国家”推出这一服务。

Other streaming services have also been accused of censorship. Netflix has altered versions of some offerings in response to political considerations in overseas markets.

其他流媒体服务也被指责存在审查行为。网飞已出于海外市场的政治考虑改变了一些剧作的版本。

In Hong Kong, the “Simpsons” episode is not the only creative work to come under scrutiny for touching on Tiananmen Square.

《辛普森一家》并不是香港唯一因触及天安门事件而受到审查的创意作品。

Ahead of the opening this month of M+, a major new art museum in Hong Kong, lawmakers called for a ban on a photograph by Ai Weiwei, perhaps China’s most famous artist, who is now living in exile. In the photograph, which the museum has since removed from its online archive, Mr. Ai is raising his middle finger in front of Tiananmen Square.

在香港大型新艺术博物馆M+本月开幕之前，立法会议员们曾呼吁禁止展出艾未未的一个摄影作品。艾未未或许是中国最著名的艺术家，目前流亡国外。在照片中，艾未未对着天安门竖起中指，该博物馆已将那张照片从其在线艺术品库中删除。

The University of Hong Kong has ordered the removal of “Pillar of Shame,” a sculpture commemorating the massacre that has stood on campus for over 20 years.

香港大学已下令移除树立在校园20多年的“六四”大屠杀纪念雕塑“国殇之柱”。

Separately, one of Hong Kong’s best-known activist groups, which organized annual vigils in memory of the massacre, disbanded in September after most of its leaders were arrested. Officials also raided a museum the group organized.

此外，香港最知名的维权组织之一“支联会”已于今年9月解散，之前该组织的大多数领导人已经被捕。支联会曾组织每年纪念“六四”大屠杀的守夜活动。官员还突袭了支联会组织的一个纪念馆。

In response to the Hong Kong crackdown, some artists, activists and intellectuals have fled. On Saturday, “Revolution of Our Times,” about the 2019 Hong Kong protests, won the best documentary prize at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, often called the Chinese-language Oscars. The film has yet to be screened in Hong Kong.

一些艺术家、活动人士和知识分子对香港镇压的回应是逃离当地。上周六，讲述2019年香港抗议活动的纪录片《时代革命》获得了台湾金马奖的最佳纪录片奖，金马奖通常被称为华语世界的奥斯卡。该片还没有在香港上映。

The “Simpsons” episode is viewable on Disney+ in Taiwan. People in Hong Kong can also still watch it if they use a virtual private network.

《辛普森一家》被删的那集仍可在台湾的Disney+上观看。香港人如果使用虚拟专用网络，仍可以观看该集。

As news of the perceived censorship spread, interest in accessing the episode by alternative means might increase, Dr. Leung said.

梁丽娟说，随着意识到该集被审查的消息传开，人们可能会对其更感兴趣，会通过各种方式去观看它。

“If they didn’t do anything, then people may not be aware of the existence of that episode,” she said. “But if you do it so obviously, then it arouses people’s interest.”

“如果他们什么都没做的话，人们可能意识不到这一集的存在，”梁丽娟说。“但如果做得这么明显的话，那反而会引起人们的兴趣。”