And the Chinese government is a master of control, known for strictly censoring Western media. Giving up on the Disney Channel meant abandoning the company’s proven brand-building strategy. But then came “Kundun.”. He instructed park designers to infuse as many Chinese elements as possible. The restaurant is billed as honoring the “restless, creative spirit” of Chinese poets. The Chinese prime minister responded favorably. A 50-member children’s choir sang as Chinese dancers and drummers paraded onstage. NYT sheds light on the backroom deals behind Shanghai Disneyland, which had already hosted a million people before officially opening three days ago: The Shanghai park… has become mission critical for Disney as it faces business pressures in other areas like cable. And Shanghai Media Group has formed alliances or made investments with Disney competitors like Sony, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks Animation. At a gathering of China’s political leaders in Beijing in March, an official called for limiting Disney’s expansion and growth. Officials from the Chinese government, the Shanghai Shendi Group and Disney broke ground on April 8, 2011, for the Shanghai Disney Resort. The Broadway version of “The Lion King” will be performed entirely in Mandarin at Shanghai Disney. But when he saw the Tibetans turning the scripture wheel, then happily watching Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, not willing to leave, he got angry. The Shenzhen SEZ, which was opened in 1980, also expanded in stages. As part of a now-defunct effort to make films for more sophisticated audiences, Disney agreed to back the director Martin Scorsese, who wanted to make “Kundun,” about China’s oppression of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader. Disney was also prepared to drop its longstanding insistence on a television channel. At the White House state dinner a few days later, Mr. Iger was seated at Mr. Xi’s table. Who would control the park? When the Communist Party first invited overseas companies into the country in 1979, global businesses had to team up with the state. There was also the not-so-minor matter of introducing Disney characters to a country whose icon, since the Communists took power in 1949, was Mao. He pre-tasted the food, which will include items like pork knuckles and Donald Duck-shaped waffles, and decided which characters would appear in the parade. Shendi, for instance, has set up its own energy company to supply natural gas to the theme park site. I interviewed Li for an article (forthcoming in the July issue of Time Out Beijing) about Rauschenberg in China, which opened at UCCA in Beijing last weekend. The year was 1997, and Disney had finally found a bit of success in China. Mr. “This film was a form of insult to our friends, but other than journalists, very few people in the world ever saw it,” Mr. Eisner said during the meeting. By the time of the “Kundun” debacle, the demand was clearly there. Over dinner at a state guesthouse, Mr. Iger offered a more conciliatory approach, setting the tone for the next phase of talks. Follow David Barboza @DavidBarboza2 and Brooks Barnes @brooksbarnesNYT on Twitter. Disney then ran with the idea, infusing the park with Chinese elements. Robert Rauschenberg in Lhasa, 1985 (photo: Thomas Buehler). How were Disney’s nightly fireworks shows going to work in smoggy Shanghai? The video works had some Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck footage, the Tibetans thought it was fun. “The Dragon Club,” a Disney cartoon series, was popular in Chinese homes, and “The Lion King” had given Disney its first big hit in Chinese cinemas. That led to Mickey’s Corner kiosks that sold consumer goods like Minnie Mouse-branded shampoo, and to more television shows. China's annual political season, the "Two Sessions" continues. A color photograph shows the president’s father, who died in 2002, wearing a Mao suit, shaking hands with Mickey Mouse. The Chinese government, which considers the Dalai Lama a separatist, denounced the project and pressured Disney to abandon it. Mr. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, took a corporate jet to Shanghai in February 2008 to meet with the city’s new Communist Party boss, Yu Zhengsheng. He pre-tasted all the food, which will include items like pork knuckles and Donald Duck-shaped waffles, and decided which characters would appear in the parade. It was in stark contrast to the deal with Hong Kong. As commercial interests clashed with socialist principles, there were wage disputes, allegations of intellectual property theft and conflicts over corporate strategy. Mr. Iger has called Shanghai the “greatest opportunity the company has had since Walt Disney himself bought land in Central Florida” in the 1960s. ... Wang says it will compete with a Disneyland under construction in Shanghai. “It’s good to see the fruits of efforts over the years,” a smiling Mr. Xi told Mr. Iger at a public meeting between the men at the Great Hall of the People in early May. Disney hired former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and mounted an intense lobbying effort. The Shanghai government sees Disney as just one piece of a broader effort to redevelop Pudong, the city’s easternmost region, by creating industrial parks and tourist destinations. Hong Kong Disneyland, which is relatively small, has had mixed financial results since opening in 2005. Disney had to navigate a thicket of agencies, bureaucrats and officials. LinkedIn has agreedto censor content inside the country. Just 30 miles southeast of Disney’s site, the government has promoted Winterland, which bills itself as the world’s largest indoor ski resort and entertainment facility. From his wiki: In 1946 he was a founding member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, an organization who stated they “believ[ed] in, and like, the American Way of Life … we find ourselves in sharp revolt against a rising tide of Communism, Fascism and kindred beliefs, that seek by subversive means to undermine and change this way of life”. Notably, Disney partnered with the state to produce “Born in China,” a film that promises to “showcase to the world the spectacular wildlife and natural beauty of China,” which a trailer depicts as snuggly baby pandas, snow leopards and lavish aerial shots of pristine mountain ranges. There were not many TVs in Tibet back then. Instead, 80 percent of the Shanghai rides, like the “Tron” lightcycle roller coaster, are unique, a move that pleased executives at the company’s Chinese partner, the state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group, who made multiple trips to Disney headquarters to hash out blueprint details. Nearby, Haichang Polar Ocean World promises “performances” by beluga whales, dolphins, polar bears and arctic wolves. But criticism has begun, too. Disney had to navigate a thicket of agencies, bureaucrats and officials. Giving up on the Disney Channel meant abandoning the company’s proven brand-building strategy. When Mr. Xi stopped in Seattle last September, Mr. Iger was among the American executives on hand to welcome him. And he introduced Mr. Iger, then Disney’s international president, as the person who would carry on negotiations for a theme park. The government built new infrastructure, including a subway line that goes directly to the park’s front gate. If all doesn’t go as planned, Disney will suffer the wrath of Wall Street, which expects the resort to offset slower growth at ESPN, the company’s longtime profit engine, and some of its other theme parks. In 1947, during the Second Red Scare, Disney testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), where he branded Herbert Sorrell, David Hilberman and William Pomerance, former animators and labor union organizers, as Communist agitators; Disney stated that the 1941 strike led by them was part of an organized Communist effort to gain influence in Hollywood. “All of our business in China stopped overnight,” Disney’s chief executive at the time, Michael D. Eisner, recalled. At the White House state dinner a few days later, Mr. Iger was seated at Mr. Xi’s table. SHANGHAI — Disney had pushed China too hard, putting the company’s plans for a new theme park here in limbo. The article then goes on to itemize the unprecedented lengths to which current Disney CEO Robert A. Iger has gone to make Shanghai Disneyland a reality, including courting a personal relationship with Xi Jinping: After Mr. Iger learned that Mr. Xi’s father, Xi Zhongxun, a revolutionary leader, had visited Disneyland in 1980, he pressed his staff to find a photograph. “Disney had to educate the Chinese government on how they operate, and the government wanted to persuade Disney that they needed a local partner to make this thing work,” said Tang Jun, one of Mr. Iger’s former lieutenants in China. It may be all smiles now, but Mickey Mouse knows all too well what can happen when the Middle Kingdom gets mad.

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