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The Weibo account of comedian and YouTuber Nigel Ng, better known as "Uncle Roger", has been banned.
According to a status message on his profile, Ng is currently banned for the violation of "relevant regulations."
Source: Screenshot via Weibo
The ban comes a day after Ng uploaded a video online in which he was seen poking fun at China during a comedy routine.
The clip appears to be a preview of a full routine that will be shown on Jun. 4.
Ng had also suggested on both YouTube and Twitter that the clip would get him "cancelled."
What did Ng say in the clip?
The video begins with Ng interacting with a member of the audience who says that he is from Guangzhou.
Ng then replies, "China, good country, good country," to the laughter of the audience.
He adds, "We have to say that now, correct? All the phone(s) (are) listening."
He notes that the audience member is using a Huawei phone.
When the member replies that he is using Express VPN, Ng adds, "Don't let your government hear that please."
Ng then says, "Long live President Xi" twice towards his pocket, meant to symbolise his phone, and adds, "Uncle Roger social credit score going up," with animated graphics showing numbers.
Ng subsequently asks if anyone in the audience is from Taiwan.
When several members cheer in response, the subtitles say, "*woos in sovereignty*."
This prompts Ng to joke that Taiwan is not a real country and say, "I hope one day you rejoin the motherland. One China."
The clip concludes with Ng jesting that he will be cancelled after his routine and calling on the audience to write a "good report" for him.
"Dear CCP, Uncle Roger good comrade, good comrade. Don't make him disappear please," he says.
Previously apologised to Chinese fans for collaborating with a YouTuber known for critical views of China's government
Ng's jokes present a marked contrast to an earlier incident in January 2021, when he apologised to his Chinese fans on Weibo for his collaboration with a Chinese-American YouTuber, Mike Chen, who is known for his critical views of the Chinese government.
At that time, Ng put out a statement that he and his staff would like to express their "sincerest apologies to everyone" for the video had made "a bad social impact".
Ng also said the video with Chen had been taken down from all platforms.
Ng added that in the process of working on the video with Chen, whom he referred to as "the content-creator", he "wasn't aware of [Chen's] political thoughts and his past incorrect remarks about China".
Most Chinese netizens praised Ng for making his stance on the matter clear quickly, and for taking the side of China over its critics.
However, he was criticised by some Twitter users for caving in too easily for something that he did not even have to apologise for, in order to supposedly continue having access to the Chinese market.
Chen subsequently responded to the episode by saying that he hoped Ng could do "his own research on the CCP" to see for himself if Chen's remarks on China are really "incorrect".
"Living in the UK grants him that basic freedom, something not afforded to the millions under CCP rule," he added.
He also said Ng had not given him a heads-up before apologising and taking down the video.
Video follows recent incident of Chinese comedian being fined S$2.56 million after "inappropriate" jokes about military
Ng's video also comes in the wake of a S$2.56 million fine that was issued to a comedian in China for jokes he had made about the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The joke was delivered by Li Haoshi at a show on May 13, in which he described his experience of seeing two dogs chasing a squirrel using a PLA slogan.
The punchline garnered laughter from the audience, but an audience member did not take Li’s words well.
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".
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 screenshots via mrnigelng/YouTube