In the latest example of Western capitulation to the Chinese Communist Party, a cake celebrating pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong has been removed from the Cake International baking show in the United Kingdom for being “offensive”.
Cake International, which hosts cake-makers from around the world, dubbing itself “The World’s Greatest Cake Show”, has come under fire for banning a Hong Kong protests themed cake — but allowing a cake lampooning U.S. President Donald Trump to enter.
The cake, designed by a baker from the 3rd Space café in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, was decorated with prominent symbols of the Hong Kong protest movement, including umbrellas, yellow hard hats, tear gas canisters, and a Guy Fawkes mask. Inside the cake was a music box that played “Glory to Hong Kong”, a song that has become an anthem of the protest movement.
The presence of the cake sparked a backlash from some Chinese people who attended the show. The café released on its Instagram page an email that it had received from Cake International, which said that “The content and message behind the cake has been viewed as offensive and led to complaints from attendees, therefore the decision has been taken to withdraw it from the competition.”
In a statement on Facebook, Cake International said that the cake was removed from the competition area after receiving complaints and threats to “damage the piece”.
However, the show later claimed that the final decision to remove the piece was due to the cake being “oversized” because one of the umbrellas on the cake was hanging over the “allowed area”.
A spokesperson for the café speaking to the BBC said it was “obvious that it was an excuse that they came up [with] to cover their political censorship.”
Another politically-inspired cake, an unflattering depiction of President Donald Trump and the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was allowed to be displayed at the same show.
The cake controversy comes just a month after the NBA bowed to Chinese pressure, condemning Houston Rockets owner Daryl Morey for tweeting his support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Protests in Hong Kong were initially sparked by the introduction of a controversial extradition law by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, but have morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic rights and freedom to be restored to the city.