Ad-libbing during a stand-up routine is second nature to a comedian. But when Li Haoshi went off-script at a concert in Beijing last Saturday, it sparked a police investigation, millions of dollars in fines and a renewed sense of sadness over free speech in China.
Li, performing under the stage name House, said watching his dogs chase squirrels reminded him of the People’s Liberation Army motto that President Xi Jinping has also quoted: “Fight and win, and maintain a good conduct excellent”.
The reference sparked outrage among conservative and nationalist commentators after an audience member posted the audio clip on social media.
Chinese officials were quick to respond. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism fined Li’s management company $2.1 million and suspended its performances in Beijing and Shanghai indefinitely.
The “gravely insulting” joke violated regulations that performances should not “hurt national sentiments” or “damage national honor,” the office said. “We will never allow any company or individual to wantonly denigrate the glorious image of the People’s Army on the stage of the capital. [and] hurt people’s deep feelings towards their army.”
Li, 31, is now under investigation by Beijing police. His management company has terminated his contract and is taking disciplinary action against senior managers who must sign off on the material before performing it. Comedy and music concerts across the country have been canceled in recent days.
The Global Times, a nationalist pamphlet, described stand-up comedy as a performing art of Western countries, but noted a “red line” that needed to be observed.
“It must respect the Chinese audience based on its level of acceptance, and fundamentally, it must honor social consensus, goodwill and Chinese laws,” the newspaper said in an editorial.
The incident has returned the spotlight to questions about the role of comedy, undermining free speech and intolerance of dissent in what critics see as the increasingly authoritarian state under Xi, China’s most powerful since Mao Zedong.
Stand-up comedy has grown in popularity over the past 10 years. According to state media, the number of comedy clubs rose to almost 180 in 2021, up from less than 10 in 2018.
Maya Wang, China expert at Human Rights Watch, said the art form offered some young Chinese “pockets of freedom” but was destined to “ultimately comply with the iron fist of the Chinese government.”
“The pockets get smaller and smaller, like little bubbles where people end up gasping for air,” he said.
Two Chinese comedians who spoke to the Financial Times on condition of anonymity said the episode showed how treacherous their craft had become.
“Many colleagues are worried about losing their jobs and are now looking for work outside of comedy,” said one woman in Shanghai. “With government censorship, performer self-censorship, and audience censorship, how much room will we have for jokes?”
Manya Koetse, a sinologist and editor-in-chief of 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 touched on popular themes of patriotism and entertainment.
“When the two meet and collide and collide, it’s always a recipe for something to go viral,” he said, noting a long-running debate over the merits of a 2021 regulation that stipulates 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 officials to let go” because Li’s use of a PLA slogan had sparked a wave of complaints on hotlines in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities and had directly quoted Xi. .
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It also came at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over issues such as Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party claims as part of China and has not ruled out using the PLA to one day assert sovereignty.
“It’s a big deal to laugh at the heroes defending the country at this time,” said the academic, who asked not to be named. “Punishment must be as swift and strong as lightning.”
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 not decided by the government or the CCP but by specific party officials,” he said. “This is not representative of the masses and the interpreter cannot predict the thoughts of an official.”
