The Washington Wizards’ exhibition game against the Guangzhou Long Lions on Wednesday night found itself the latest forum for an ongoing struggle between free speech and American business interests in China. During the game, Capital One Arena staff repeatedly confiscated signs from fans expressing support for Hong Kong.

Jon Schweppe and at least two other men held up small signs in the lower bowl. The first sign read “Free Hong Kong.” It was taken by a member of the Capital One Arena staff during the national anthem.

Just had our “Free Hong Kong” sign confiscated at Capitol One Arena at the Wizards game against the Guangzhou Long Lions. #FreeHongKong #NBA #Censorship pic.twitter.com/on1O4QdBUi

— Jon Schweppe (@JonSchweppe) October 9, 2019

The staff person was polite. “Capital One Arena, we respect your freedom of speech,” he says. “We just personally don’t have any stand on it, so we ask no signage related to that being in here tonight.”

The it and that the staff person refers to is China’s increasingly authoritarian presence in Hong Kong.

After reverting to Chinese property after leaving the British empire in 1997,  Hong Kong had delicately maintained its autonomy despite being technically subject to the rule of the one-party Chinese state. Recent protests in Hong Kong have been in opposition to new crackdowns on free speech and against Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who is increasingly seen as a Chinese functionary.

American business interests in China and the country’s hostility towards human rights have made the issue unavoidable in America. Last week, NBA general manager Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets was forced to apologize after tweeting support for Hong Kong. Earlier this week, video game studio Blizzard banned esports athletes and casters who had  voiced support for Hong Kong on livestreams. In both cases, the backlash has been severe.

Schweppe’s second sign, “Google Uyghurs” was later also confiscated, as a different Capital One Arena representative argued that the sign was political.

Our “Google Uyghurs” sign has been confiscated. pic.twitter.com/fX4tF4oOxR

— Jon Schweppe (@JonSchweppe) October 9, 2019

COA’s stated policy disallows any signs that are “commercial or political in nature”, though enforcement of that rule has been somewhat scattershot.

Headline photo: Jon Schweppe