Shanghai Disneyland may hinge on acceptance of the Disney Channel

I had a long meeting tonight with a Disney representative in Beijing on a completely unrelated matter to the rumors of a Disneyland in Shanghai. But yet, I couldn't help but inquire. What's happening?

He didn't shed too much light on the situation for me, but said, in his view, that having a Disneyland open by 2010 is overly optimistic, at best. He said the Shanghai Municipal Government and Disney have already reached an agreement to move forward with a theme park, and that agreement has been given Beijing's blessing. But Disney refuses to move forward unless the central government allows the broadcast of the Disney Channel, and so far, it has refused.

The Disney Channel would be vital to securing (indoctrinating?) a young fan base of Disney characters. I have read (sorry, no link, as I can't recall where I read it) that many in Hong Kong were only familiar with Mickey Mouse, as they had not grown up with the other Disney characters such as Snow White, Goofy, Donald Duck, and others. The Disney Channel would go a long way towards rectifying that.

Of course, permitting Disney to broadcast images of Americana 24/7 to impressionable children might be too much for the folks inside Zhongnanhai.