Broadway star Zachary Noah Piser has abruptly withdrawn from the leading role in a musical about 1989’s Tiananmen massacre just weeks before its debut.
According to Mr. Piser’s other Instagram posts and Chinese state media reports, he was on tour in Shanghai, China, performing Broadway hits when he made his announcement.
The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre is known in China as the June 4 incident.
The Chinese communist regime’s military opened fire on unarmed pro-democracy college students and citizens in Tiananmen Square and major roads in Beijing after two months of mass protests against the regime’s corruption and demands for democracy.
Questions on Why Piser Quit
Wu Zuolai, a cultural scholar now living in the United States and a former official at the Chinese Academy of Arts told The Epoch Times that the CCP strictly censors anything about the June 4 incident.Mr. Wu said that every year around June 4, the CCP will take strict precautions, and any commemorative activities will be completely shut down; even lighting candles and posting a candle on the internet will be censored.
“Because the CCP is afraid that the June 4 incident will refresh many people’s painful memories, rekindle the resentment of many people towards the CCP, and that the commemoration of June 4 will set off a wave of anti-communism which it will unable to withstand,” he said.
Mr. Wu said he believes that the CCP has played a role in Mr. Piser’s decision to quit “Tiananmen: The New Musical”.
Mr. Piser is a well-known Broadway performer, Mr Wu said, and it would have had a great impact if he played the leading role in the production.
Mr. Wu said he believes there must be careful arrangements by the CCP behind Mr. Piser backing out of the show as such a last-minute act is rare in Western society that values credibility.
Mr. Wu had a lot of questions about what had occurred.
Given that “Tiananmen: The New Musical” debuts in October, why is Mr. Piser able to perform in China at this time? How did he get invited to tour China? What kind of payment could have been offered to make him withdraw from the contracted performance project?
Mr. Wu noted that because Mr. Piser has a Chinese background, “either the CCP gave him a lot of mental pressure or paid him a lot of money to get him to withdraw from the musical. These are the usual methods of the CCP.”
He warned: “This is not a trivial matter. This incident should remind American society that the CCP’s United Front strategy—interference by special methods—has reached the point of whatever means necessary.”
Hu Ping, honorary editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring magazine, a monthly Chinese-language magazine focussing on human rights, democracy, and social justice in China, told The Epoch Times on Aug. 31 that although it has been 34 years since the June 4th incident, it is still a highly sensitive topic for the CCP.
Mr. Hu said what happened in Tiananmen on June 4, 1989, is a huge crime, and the CCP wants to keep covering it up.
Mr. Hu also thought Mr. Piser had quit under pressure from the CCP, an act that would have caused a lot of trouble for the U.S. production company.
“This also reflects a very common problem—some Chinese who have settled and worked in the West hope to have the opportunity to return to China to do business, perform, or carry out some activities,” Mr. Hu said
“But they have a lot of hesitations and worries when they want to freely express their views outside mainland China.”
