A Chinese comedian runs into a political storm after his army joke fails

Ad-libbing during a stand-up routine is second nature to a comedian. But when Li Haoshi strayed from the script at a Beijing event last Saturday, it sparked a police investigation, millions of dollars in fines and a new sense of frustration over free expression in China.

Lee, performing under his stage name House, said that watching his dogs chase squirrels reminded him of the People’s Liberation Army’s motto, which is also quoted by President Xi Jinping: “Fight and Win, and keep up the good conduct.”

The reference sparked outrage among conservative and nationalist commentators after an audience member posted the audio clip on social media.

Chinese officials reacted quickly. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism fined Li’s management company $2.1 million and indefinitely suspended its performances in Beijing and Shanghai.

The bureau said the “gravely offensive” joke violated rules that the performance should not “hurt national feelings” or “damage national honour”. “We will not allow any company or individual to hurt the deep feelings of the people on the platform of the capital (and) towards the people’s army.”

Li, 31, is now under investigation by Beijing police. His management company has terminated his contract and is taking disciplinary action against senior management who were the ones to sign prior to the performance of the material. Comedy and music events across the country have been canceled in recent days.

The Global Times, a nationalist broadsheet, described stand-up comedy as a performance art typical of Western countries, but noted a “red line” that needed to be observed.

“It should respect Chinese audiences based on their level of acceptance of them, and fundamentally, it should respect social consensus, goodwill and Chinese laws,” the newspaper said in an editorial.

Given what critics see as an increasingly authoritarian state under Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, the phenomenon has raised questions about the role of comedy, undermining free speech and intolerance of dissent.

Stand-up comedy has grown in popularity over the past 10 years. According to state media, the number of comedy clubs is expected to grow from less than 10 in 2018 to nearly 180 in 2021.

Maya Wang, a China expert at Human Rights Watch, said that the art form offered some young Chinese “pockets of freedom”, but was “destined to ultimately meet the iron fist of the Chinese government”.

“The pockets get smaller and smaller, like little bubbles where people gasp for air,” she said.

Two Chinese comedians, who spoke to the Financial Times on condition of anonymity, said the episode showed how treacherous their craft had become.

One woman in Shanghai said, “Many co-workers are worried about losing their jobs and are now looking for jobs outside stand-up comedy.” “With government censorship, self-censorship of performers, and censorship of audiences, how much room do we have for jokes?”

Manya Coetse, a Sinologist and editor-in-chief of the Chinese social media tracker What’s on Weibo, said the episode had exploded online – with some posts garnering hundreds of millions of hits – because it cuts across popular issues of patriotism and entertainment. .

“When the two meet and they collide and they collide, it’s always a recipe for something that goes viral,” she said, noting the long-running debate over the merits of the 2021 rules that “the leaders of the entertainment industry should promote love for the Motherland”.

A Chinese academic who advises the government on social issues said the incident was “impossible for authorities to let go” as Li’s use of the PLA motto resulted in a wave of complaints to hotlines in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. And he quoted Xi directly. ,

It also came at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over issues such as Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party claims to be part of China and has not ruled out using the PLA to one day claim sovereignty. .

“At this moment laughing at the heroes defending the country is a big problem,” said the academic, who asked not to be named. “The punishment is bound to be quick and strong like thunder.”

But another comedian in Beijing said public performances were becoming “impossible”.

“What kind of topics are sensitive? There has never been a conclusion in China. It is decided by specific party officials, not the government or the CCP,” she said. “It is not representative of the public, and the artist is not an official cannot predict the thoughts of