 According to "Newsweek" (Oct. 9, 1995), the Chinese Consulate in New York was “not happy” to hear that "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" would be part of the festival.Consular officials said that “the film was an insult to China, and unless it was removed from the festival, they would be forced to withdraw [Zhang Yimou’s new film] Shanghai Triad.”

Other film festivals were also subjected to similar pressures; for example, in an official letter to the director of Filmfest DC, the Press Counsel of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington D.C. wrote, “As is well known, a very small number of people engaged themselves in anti-government violence in Beijing in June 1989 but failed.The film "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" sings praise of these people in total disregard of the facts.