That’s because Hong Kong’s leading broadcaster, Television Broadcasts Limited (TBL), is not airing the Academy Awards for the first time in more than 50 years. A TBL spokesperson told CNN last month that it was “purely a commercial decision.” But that decision comes in the same year as “Do Not Split” and Chloe Zhao, the Beijing-born film maker who wrote and directed the Best Picture-nominated drama “Nomadland,” both faced criticism in mainland China.

Speaking with CNN’s John Avlon on “Reliable Sources” Sunday, “Do Not Split” director and co-producer Anders Hammer said his team expected the Chinese government to react to the documentary, but not in this way.

“It’s basically a movie about a big group of mostly young people standing up against Beijing,” Hammer said. “Beijing is known to react very strongly if they feel that their main political aims are creating resistance. In our documentary, we are portraying these protesters, so it was no surprise that Beijing reacted, but we didn’t…