On the evening of February 14, 2026, as part of the joint production between Henan TV and Tencent’s game “Dark Zone Breakthrough,” the “Spring Festival Gala” (rising tide of horseshoe hooves) integrated traditional Chinese cultural elements into some dance performances, such as Hanfu and flying dance. The event was abruptly interrupted during the live broadcast, causing a significant stir both domestically and internationally. Observers couldn’t help but question: Why did the Chinese authorities urgently cut off the broadcast, what were they afraid of? As of now, official sources have not provided a clear explanation for the sudden interruption of the live broadcast.
On February 14, the official accounts related to “Dark Zone Breakthrough” released information indicating a joint creation program “The Last Ember” with the 2026 Henan Spring Festival Gala. The performance unit was listed as the Wuxi Song and Dance Theatre (Jiangsu National Dance Drama Theater) and emphasized the “brilliant resonance between tactical aesthetics and traditional culture.”
Mobile-side live streaming began at 19:30 on various official accounts of “Henan TV” (including Da Xiang News client, video accounts, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Bilibili, Weibo, iQiyi, Tencent Video, Youku, etc.).
Television side: Henan TV will simultaneously broadcast at 19:45.
This gala had no hosts or a typical stage setup. All segments were pre-recorded in a cinematic storytelling format.
According to a report by the China Daily, the chief director of the gala, Lu Hongli, said: “We have incorporated Chinese traditional cultural elements into every detail of each segment, allowing the audience to naturally appreciate its beauty, showcasing the exquisite Hanfu and jewelry from different dynasties, and incorporating intangible cultural heritage.”
Lu Hongli also mentioned that this year marked the first large-scale application of artificial intelligence in the Spring Festival Gala. Content generated by AI replaced many traditionally computer-generated elements and was complemented by physical sets.
However, after the start of the live broadcast, some viewers complained that the first half-hour had a higher proportion of advertisements, with some ad time even surpassing the program content itself in certain periods.
On that evening, the live broadcast of the gala was suddenly interrupted, and related replay videos were swiftly taken down from platforms like Douyin and Bilibili.
In the early hours of February 15, Henan TV’s official Weibo account posted a collection of their “Spring Festival Gala” programs along with introductions:
The program featured the dance “Endless Elegance,” in which actors from the China Oriental Performing Arts Group brought the “Oriental Immortal Realm” onto the stage.
The dance “The Last Ember” – Flames burn through the long night, armor protects the mountains and rivers. Led by dancer Zhang Aoyue, transformed into a time and space pilgrim, traversing through centuries of war, interpreting “the flame never dies, the protection never fades.” The phrase “The Last Ember, the bright moon of the mountains and rivers” has become a hot online catchphrase.
The gala incorporated a plethora of traditional cultural elements. Some netizens speculated that these elements might clash with the atheist stance of the Chinese Communist Party, leading to the interruption and takedown of the program.
After the disruption of Henan TV’s “Spring Festival Gala,” the nation was shaken, sparking a major backlash on the internet with criticisms flooding in.
Among the widely accepted information is that shortly after the start of the live broadcast, the gala faced massive reports and complaints.
On February 16, former Inner Mongolian official Du Wen, currently in Brussels, Belgium, expressed on a self-media program that upon reviewing the Henan “Spring Festival Gala,” he immediately contacted his friends within the circle in Henan and Beijing to gather information.
Du Wen revealed that shortly after the broadcast of the Henan “Spring Festival Gala,” there were massive reports alleging the gala “spread ‘feudal’ superstitions, such as ‘Endless Elegance’ (interpreted by viewers as the return of gods). ‘The Last Ember of the Mountains and Rivers’ metaphorically implies ‘the long night, dark night will pass, the mountains and rivers of the motherland will finally embrace the light. This is the moment of being occupied.'”
He believed that the gala “alluded to reality, endangered national security, and was a complete mix of low-level red and high-level black.”
He concluded that the main reason for the complete cutoff and takedown of the Henan “Spring Festival Gala” was due to the program’s portrayal of the current situation, insinuating that China had entirely reverted to a ‘feudal’ society, leading to its full takedown online.
He stated that to interrupt a provincial-level television station’s annual major live broadcast is not solely the decision of platforms like Douyin. The decision must have come from higher authorities like the Central Cyberspace Administration, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, the Propaganda Department, and the General Office of the Communist Party of China, among others. The interruption notification would be completed through the Central Cyberspace Administration, which could control the entire internet, bypass platforms, and directly interrupt a certain program broadcast. They could even temporarily take over platform management rights.
Du Wen explained that in China, the provincial TV station’s hosting of the “Spring Festival Gala” is not just about arts and culture; it goes through multiple layers and departments for review and risk assessment.
In terms of the process, related projects must first pass internal TV station reviews, including budgeting, overall planning, program arrangement, and content reviews. Subsequently, it usually needs to be submitted to the provincial propaganda department for ideological examination, critically verifying whether the theme aligns with that year’s policy direction and whether it involves sensitive issues like politics, ethnicity, religion, and history.
At the industry regulatory level, the provincial radio and television regulatory department also needs to conduct compliance reviews of the program. If it involves national satellite TV broadcasts or network synchronous transmission, it may require higher-level industry management departments for specialized reviews. Meanwhile, public security departments usually participate in security plans and risk assessments, while the Cyberspace Administration system assesses network transmission risks, public opinion trends, and cross-platform dissemination conditions.
Furthermore, before the official broadcast, the relevant programs usually undergo final dress rehearsal video submission and pre-broadcast monitoring. If sudden risks to public opinion, significant safety hazards, or temporary instructions from superiors arise during the live broadcast, there may be the possibility of immediate interruption.
Du Wen emphasized that despite the Spring Festival Gala passing through layers of review and repeated rehearsals, it could still be abruptly cut off during the broadcast. This proves that “approval does not equal protection”; it merely delays the risk. Under the current system, there is no such thing as safe expression space because the final red line is not written in explicit rules; it lies in the changing judgment of those in power, even with shades of “the guilty conscience of a thief.” This method of “cutting off first, dealing with it later” is becoming the norm, indicating that the standards of judgment can change at any time.
When those in power monopolize the interpretation of homophones, expressions, lyrics, and even stage design, any ordinary artistic creation could be redefined as “alluding to reality.”
Du Wen presented a profound question: When those in power begin to have sensitive reactions to neutral terms like “light” and “long night,” what are they really afraid of?
Overseas user “Anti-Dictatorship Warrior Wang Shoufeng”: The directors and editors at Henan TV used tangible actions to illustrate the meaning of ultimate stubbornness. The Xi regime’s current actions are like a kettle floating upside down, neglecting important matters for trivial issues. With such rampant censorship, the end of the Xi Jinping dynasty is approaching!