Universal Studios is taking a major step toward cementing its relationship with China’s Communist dictators as the Comcast-owned Hollywood studio prepares to open its long-planned, multibillion-dollar theme park in Beijing.
The studio announced Monday the new park will open September 20, with guests able to experience 37 attractions, including Jurassic Park and Harry Potter-themed rides. The park will also feature two resort hotels and a Universal CityWalk Beijing, which is open to the public.
The theme park, which has been under construction since 2016, has received major support from Chinese Communist Party authorities, including the extension of one of Beijing’s main subway lines to the site, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The ultimate price tag for the park — which has been promoted as Universal’s largest theme park worldwide — remains unknown. But various reports have pegged the cost at around $8 billion.
BEIJING, CHINA: Beijinger’s visit an indoor movie theme park by US-based giant Universal Studios 19 June 1999 in one of the city’s most modern shopping complexes. (STEPHEN SHAVER/AFP via Getty Images)
As the state-run newspaper China Daily reported, the opening will come one day before the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Like other Hollywood studios, Universal has looked the other way when it comes to China’s genocidal atrocities and anti-democracy crackdowns in Hong Kong. In 2019, Universal Parks and Resorts chairman and CEO Tom Williams reportedly said it was important to avoid bringing up controversial subjects when doing business with the CCP.
“You don’t start talking about the leadership in China. You would be crazy to bring up Hong Kong, Taiwan,” he said. “You would never start talking that way. You just focus on what you are trying to do.”
Hollywood star and WWE champion John Cena has apologized to China for correctly calling Taiwan a “country” during the recent press tour for the movie Fast & Furious 9. (Michael N. Todaro; Anthony Wallace; Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images/BNN Edit)
Universal recently experienced widespread ridicule after Fast & Furious 9 actor John Cena’s apologized to China, publicly begging for forgiveness after correctly calling Taiwan a “country” during an interview.
Cena made the apology during the international press tour for F9, just as the movie was set to open in China, saying, “I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologize, I apologize, I’m very sorry.”
Comcast, which also owns NBC and MSNBC, has also come under fire for its favorable media coverage of China as the conglomerate seeks to protect and grow its business there.
NBC News has faced criticism for un-skeptically repeating the CCP’s official coronavirus death counts.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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