Chinese Government Censors French Embassy's May 1968 Exhibition at UCCA Beijing

The Chinese government has prohibited an exhibition about France's May 1968 events that was scheduled to open on 14 June 2018 at UCCA in Beijing's art district. Organized by the French Embassy in Beijing, the show titled L’art c’est vous! Les années 68 en France featured archival photographs, posters, and caricatures from the period. Among the banned materials were depictions of Mao Zedong and Charles de Gaulle, the latter recognized for establishing diplomatic relations with Communist China in 1964. A representative from China's Ministry of Culture offered only vague justification, stating that after expert review, authorities determined the exhibition should not proceed. French newspaper Ouest France first reported the censorship incident. The exhibition was planned to showcase visual materials documenting the French social and political upheavals of 1968. Government officials provided no specific reasons for the ban despite the exhibition's diplomatic origins. This intervention occurred just as the show was set to launch at one of Beijing's prominent contemporary art institutions.