Chinese comedians are not allowed to offend the military.

In China, the pressure ax strikes comedy and satire as well. It has cost comedians dearly to make Chinese audiences laugh under President Xi Jinping. As happened to Li Haoshi, who recently dared to joke about the military and the slogan used by leader Xi Jinping himself during a stand-up comedy show in Beijing.

Comedian Li Haoshi, also known by the pseudonym “House” from Xiaoguo Culture Media Company, attempted a comparison between the behavior of two dogs and the behavior of soldiers during a demonstration: the comedian also described the “winning, exemplary behavior” that was first described by Xi in 2013, both He was mentioned at the beginning of his first term as the Chinese president as well as the head of the Central Military Commission, the commanding body of the Armed Forces.

The joke earned him an investigation for “serious insults to the military”, and the entertainment company Xiaoguo, who represented him, was fined a maximum of 1.9m euros and his shows – currently indefinitely – have been suspended. In 2021, China passed a law banning all forms of defamation and slander against military personnel.

Although the audience in the hall was amused, it had mixed reactions: the joke angered more nationalistic users, while others decided that the authorities’ reaction was excessive and expressed themselves in a very harsh tone about it. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army told the Beijing Tourism and Culture Bureau, “We will never allow any company or individual to use the Chinese capital as a stage to tarnish the glorious image of PLA.” The story turned the attention to the plight of comedians in China, who were targeted by authorities and social media users for the content of their shows.

The comedian leaves the stage for a moment. Li apologized for the incident, writing on his Weibo account, which had 136,000 followers before his account was suspended, “I will assume my responsibilities, stop all activities, think deeply.”

Source: Today IT

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