Self-composed song contains hidden Morse code “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times”, mobile game Cytus’ Hong Kong music director resigns as Chinese netizens threaten to boycott
Hong Kong Echo#Newspaper
(18 Jul) Ice, the music director of the mobile game "Cytus", developed by Rayark Inc., announced his resignation on Facebook today. His Facebook post mentioned that it was related to a song he released in March which "sparked controversy". According to Taiwan media, a song he posted on SoundCloud contained the message “Hongkongers, carry on” and the Morse code “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times”. This was discovered by Chinese netizens, who then reported him and initiated to boycott the game Cytus.
Ice's statement said that the controversy over its release had sparked many discussions. He clarified that it was a "private activity", it was not part of his work and was unrelated to Rayark Inc., “therefore, I have decided to resign from Rayark Inc. with immediate effect”. Many netizens left supportive comments such as “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times”, “Thanks for your hard work” and “Support” under his post.
Ice mentioned that the “controversial” song was released on SoundCloud in March, named “Telegraph : 1344 7609 2575”. The numbers in the song title is translated as Requiem with Chinese commercial code, and the song is included in the album “Consciousness”. The song has now been removed, but the numbers "7449-3263-0086-0502-3111", meaning “Hongkongers, carry on” in Chinese commercial code, could still be seen on Soundcloud’s website.
From the report done by Taiwan media NOWnews, by cutting 26 seconds from the original song, beep sounds of different lengths can be heard. As Chinese netizens dissemble the codes, they found out the hidden morse code is "0342 1788 7449 3263 2514 0108 7245 0730", meaning "liberate Hong Kong, revolution of the times" in Chinese commercial code.
After the incident was widely spread in China, Chinese Cytus players were disgruntled and threatened to boycott the game, giving it a low score on rating sites and demanding an explanation from Rayark.The Chinese distributor of Cytus II, Longyuan Network, announced today that a composer has released a personal album that contained inappropriate political messages. The statement stresses that Longyuan Network and Rayark Inc. “did not have any knowledge of it”, and it does not represent the two companies’ political stances. Rayark Inc. has received and accepted the resignation of the composer, and all collaborations with him will be ended. Longyuan Network strongly condemns this behavior, “it will not be tolerated” and the composer will be held accountable for the losses caused.Cytus II will be temporarily removed, and will be restored after rectification.
Rayark Inc. is a game development company based in Taiwan, which became popular after the release of music game Cytus in 2011. It subsequently launched games such as Cytus II and DEEMO, which also gained high popularity. It is believed that the popularity credits to Ice, the former music director. Stand News has inquired Rayark Inc. about the incident and is awaiting for a reply.
Source: Stand News
Translated by: Hong Kong Echo
Further reading:
The truth of China’s sharp power in the gaming industry
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#China #Censorship #Taiwan #GlassHeart #Cytus #RayarkInc