Comedian Xi Diao says he knows he should avoid talking politics on stage, but sharing a last name with Chinese President Xi Jinping makes it hard to resist.
Even his name is politically sensitive, the Melbourne-based amateur comedian told the audience, making a joke about a group chat on the Chinese messaging service WeChat being shut down as soon as he joined it.
The 33-year-old civil engineer got nervous laughs when he broke the de facto rule of Chinese comedy: Don’t say anything that makes China look bad.
For most comedians, this means no jokes about censorship, no mention of the president’s name, and no discussion of China’s extremely strict COVID lockdown or social topics like domestic violence.
“It’s a pity, if the environment is open, there will be a world-class person coming,” Xi said.
Xi Diao, a Chinese-born Australian civil engineer, performs stand-up comedy at a restaurant in Melbourne, on March 25, 2022. AP
Mandarin stand-up comedy is growing, and not just in China.
These intermediaries have been around for the past decade, and Chinese expatriates have established clubs in cities such as New York, Tokyo and Madrid.
Comedians are known for being outrageous, but most Mandarin comedians, and many fans, say that some topics have no place in a comedy club.
Seven members of the leadership of the Communist Party of China including President Xi Jinping were elected after the Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Oct. 23. 2022. AP
In China there are censors who check jokes first, and punish entertainers who cross political red lines.
Earlier this year, an entertainment company was fined about $2 million when star comedian Li Haoshi made a joke that referenced a Chinese military slogan.
Abroad, comedians say they don’t fear punishment, but most say political jokes aren’t funny, or make people uncomfortable. Many are unfamiliar with political humor, having grown up in a country that largely censors it.
The 33-year-old civil engineer got nervous laughs when he broke the de facto rule of Chinese comedy: Don’t say anything that makes China look bad. AP
“We make what the audience likes,” said Guo Jia, a businessman who runs a comedy club in Tokyo. He said discomfort with politics is part of Chinese culture, comparing it to racial sensitivities in the United States.
“There are some areas where people don’t want to go, but it’s usually not because of government policy, but more social or cultural or religious pressure,” said Michel Hockx, a professor of Chinese Literature and director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Lady.
Comedians do push social boundaries.
Comedians are known for being outrageous, but most Mandarin comedians, and many fans, say that some topics have no place in a comedy club. AP
For Lin Dongxiao, a 28-year-old comedian who started performing while living in Toronto, it was an opportunity to speak in public about a congenital disorder that causes suffocation, and to make people laugh with him about how Chinese society treats people with disabilities.
Lin, who performs under the stage name “Guazi,” told the audience that women he met online complained that he didn’t warn them that he had a disability, so he added it to his dating profile.
“You are scrolling … oh gym coach, nice body; business executive, million dollar salary; and then…a third class disability certificate without any allowance.” People laughed.
Comedian Lin Dongxiao, who goes by the stage name Guazi, Lin performs a standup show in Toronto, on June 10, 2023. AP
Standup fan Wenlai Cai, a Los Angeles-based software engineer in his early 30s, said he enjoys hearing jokes about LGBTQ life and race relations, topics that are strictly forbidden on the mainland.
But “there needs to be a limit on (jokes about) high-level politics” Cai said. “That is, political leaders, partisans… I don’t think it’s worth discussing.”
There are also some places that defy Beijing sensibilities. Women’s Idea, a feminist group in New York City, hosts an uncensored comedy show that often hits politics, encouraging women to express their opinions on social and political issues.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening of the 19th national congress of the Chinese Communist Youth League (CYLC) in Beijing, capital of China, on June 19, 2023. ZUMAPRESS.com
But circular references to politics make most Chinese-language audiences uncomfortable, Xi said. After he performed at a Chinese restaurant in Australia, the owner asked him to be careful; at the stand-up competition, he received zero audience votes.
He ended up performing almost exclusively in English-speaking venues.
Zhu Jiesheng, who runs a stand-up comedy club in Madrid, studies other performers’ jokes before they go on stage, asking them to come up with jokes that can cross political lines.
But when a comedian insisted on telling a joke about the Shanghai shutdown, Zhu didn’t stop him.
The audience didn’t get the joke, Zhu said, and it started an argument backstage, making him even more convinced that politics and comedy don’t mix.
Comedians are well aware that people can get in trouble for what they say.
Asked about Li Haoshi, the comedian said he should have known better.
Zhong Di, a student who runs a comedy club in Milan, performs a standup show in Milan, Italy, Saturday, July 8, 2023. AP
“Even if you don’t make a mistake but someone else does, it affects the whole industry,” said Zhong Di, a 30-year-old student in Milan who also does standup.
Lin, who recently moved back to China to pursue a career in standup, said the industry is still recovering from the crackdown sparked by his jokes.
The Associated Press was unable to reach Li for comment, and the company that manages him did not respond to an interview request.
Guo Jia, a businessman who runs a comedy club in Tokyo, Guo performs a standup show in Tokyo, on November 6, 2022. AP
China has a record of harassing its citizens abroad for activism. It has also threatened international stars from abroad with boycotts or bans from performing in China.
Nigel Ng, a UK-based Malaysian comedian who created the popular character “Uncle Roger,” lost his Chinese social media account after a clip from a live show went viral in which he joked about China listening on a mobile phone.
Start your day with everything you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Vicky Xu, a Chinese-born journalist in Australia who also does standup in English, said that the Chinese have a long history of cracking jokes about sensitive topics.
“If you look back at a lot of movies or TV shows made in China like 20, 30 years ago, there were more political jokes than today. So how do you explain it?” he said.
Xu, whose work criticizes the Chinese government and has taken a beating from China’s official media and nationalist trolls, said that politics affects people’s lives in China so not talking about it is “ignoring the elephant in the room.”
When comedians return to China, they face restrictions beyond what they imposed on themselves abroad.
Lin says filtering is important to avoid “mess”, but submitting his material to filtering weeks before a show is still a challenge.
“No one told me what I could say or not,” Lin said, “which was quite difficult. I just submitted whatever I had, and changed it if it wasn’t approved.”
In Australia, Xi has no plans to stop joking about his famous name.
“I’m nobody,” Xi said, “and after all, I have an Australian passport … I’ll keep telling this joke.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
