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Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Company was fined 14.7 million yuan (S$2.82 million) after a joke by one of its comedians was deemed as “inappropriate” and slandering the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China, Reuters reported.

The Beijing branch of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Bureau issued a statement on May 17 noting that the company would be fined 13.35 million yuan (S$2.56 million).

1.35 million yuan (S$259,000) of “illegal” earnings would also be confiscated from the company.

What did he say?

Li Haoshi, the stand-up comedian who goes by the name “House”, performed two shows on May 13.

According to the audio of his gig which emerged on social media, he recounted his experience of coming across two stray dogs.

笑果文化脱口秀演员House(李昊石)引起强烈反响演出的录音，供各位参考 pic.twitter.com/nqiFo3Snea

— Jeff Li (@jefflijun) May 16, 2023

“Those two dogs were chasing after a squirrel, as if an artillery shell was fired,” he remarked.

“Usually when you see dogs, you would find them cute [...] When I saw these two dogs, only eight characters came into my mind: zuo feng you liang, neng da sheng zhang (according to Hanyu Pinyin)”.

He had used a PLA slogan which meant “fine style of work, capable of winning battles” to describe the behaviour of the dogs, according to a translation by CNN.

The line was first spoken by China’s President Xi Jinping in 2013 when he listed out the qualities of the PLA.

It is also part of the lyrics of a Chinese military song.

Controversy

The punchline garnered laughter from the audience, but an audience member did not take Li’s words well, according to Jimu News.

He then took to Chinese social media platform Weibo to comment on the joke’s inappropriateness, which led to intense debate and later caught the attention of the authorities, CNN reported.

An investigation was later conducted on Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media by the Beijing Cultural Law Enforcement Agency on May 15, according to the statement.

The firm released an apology letter on the same day, explaining that they have “severely criticised” Li and indefinitely suspended his work.

The comedian also apologised in a post on his now-suspended Weibo account, expressing regret and remorse about his "inappropriate analogy".

“I will take responsibility for this, stop all performance activities, reflect deeply, [and] re-learn.”

China & comedy

In the statement, the bureau also emphasised, “we will never allow any company or individual use the Chinese capital as a stage to wantonly slander the glorious image of the PLA," according to a Reuters translation.

It pointed out that solemn and serious topics should not be incorporated into entertainment, while urging others in the industry to abide by the rules.

Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media’s activities have been halted temporarily as part of its penalties.

In response to the incident, Chinese state-aligned media Global Times said that stand-up comedy in the country “has a red line”.

It should be respectful to the audience based on their acceptance levels and “honour the social consensus, goodwill and Chinese laws,” wrote the media outlet.

In June 2021, China passed a law to ban the slander and defamation of PLA personnel.

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Top images via YouTube/Variety show & Getty-Ludovic Main/AFP