was "A semi-powerful thriller let down by pedestrian direction and a lacklustre Richard Gere. Even so, newcomer Bai Ling and an unblinking stare at the Draconian Chinese legal system prevent Red Corner from being an open-and-shut case" and describes some scenes depicting the harsh treatment of the Chinese legal system as "thought provoking" yet describes the rest as only "mildly entertaining". Censorship The film was censored in the People's Republic of China due to its unflattering portrayal of China's judicial system. Gere was vocal about how the film is "... a different angle of dealing with Tibet" and a political statement about China's oppression of Tibet, even though Tibet is never mentioned in the film. Chinese officials visited MGM, the film's studio and distributor, to ask why the studio was releasing the movie during the U.S. visit of Chinese president Jiang Zemin. A memo issued by China's Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, sent to Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America and addressed to Chinese film offices, banned cooperation with the Hollywood studios that produced Red Corner (MGM/United Artists), Kundun (Disney) and Seven Years In Tibet (Columbia TriStar), as films that "viciously attack China {and} hurt Chinese people's feelings... Although . . . all kinds of efforts have been made, those three American companies are still pushing out above films... In order to protect Chinese national overall interests, it has been decided that all business cooperation with these three companies to be ceased temporarily without exception." Gere claims his political activism regarding Tibet and his friendship with the Dalai Lama has disrupted his film career and effects the financing, production and distribution of films he is connected with. Testifying before the United States Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness on "censorship as a non-tariff barrier" in 2020, Gere stated that economic interest compel studios to avoid social and political issues Hollywood once addressed, "Imagine Marty Scorsese's Kundun, about the life of the Dalai Lama, or my own film Red Corner, which is highly critical of the Chinese legal system. Imagine them being made today. It wouldn't happen." See Also List of TV and films critical of the Chinese Communist Party References External links 1997 films 1990s mystery thriller films American courtroom films 1990s political thriller films Films directed by Jon Avnet American political thriller films Films set in Beijing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer