Comedian Xi Diao says he knows to 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 tells the audience, making a joke about a group chat on Chinese messaging service WeChat that was shut down as soon as he joined.
The 33-year-old civil engineer laughs nervously every time he breaks a de facto rule of Chinese comedy: don’t say anything that makes China look bad.
For most comedians, that means not making jokes about censorship, not mentioning the president’s name, and not discussing China’s extraordinarily strict COVID lockdowns or social issues like domestic violence.
“It’s a pity, if the environment were open, someone world-class would emerge,” Xi said.
Xi Diao, a Chinese-born Australian civil engineer, performs a comedy at a restaurant in Melbourne on March 25, 2022. AP
Stand-up comedy in Mandarin is growing, and not just in China.
The medium has taken off in the last decade and China’s expatriate population has established clubs in cities such as New York, Tokyo and Madrid.
Comedians are known for bristling at boundaries, but most Mandarin-language comedians — and many fans — say some topics have no place in the comedy club.
Seven members of China’s Communist Party leadership, including President Xi Jinping, were selected 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 review jokes beforehand and punish artists who cross political red lines.
Earlier this year, an entertainment company was fined around $2 million when star comedian Li Haoshi made a joke that referenced a Chinese military motto.
Abroad, comedians say they don’t fear punishment, but most say political jokes aren’t funny or make people uncomfortable. Many are not very familiar with political humor, having grown up in a country that largely censors it.
The 33-year-old civil engineer laughs nervously every time he breaks a de facto rule of Chinese comedy: don’t say anything that makes China look bad. AP
“We do 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 sensitivities about race in the United States.
“There are some areas where people don’t go, but usually it’s not because of government policies, but because of greater social, cultural or religious pressure,” said Michel Hockx, professor of Chinese literature and director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asia. . Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
Comedians push social boundaries.
Comedians are known for bristling at boundaries, but most Mandarin-language comedians — and many fans — say some topics have no place in the comedy club. AP
For Lin Dongxiao, a 28-year-old comedian who began acting while living in Toronto, it was a chance to speak publicly about a congenital disorder that causes limping and make the crowd laugh with him about how Chinese society treats people with disability. .
Lin, who performs under the stage name “Guazi,” told an 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’re scrolling… oh gym trainer, nice body; business executive, millionaire salary; and then… third class disability certificate without any subsidy.” People started laughing.
Comedian Lin Dongxiao, who uses the stage name Guazi, Lin performs stand-up in Toronto on June 10, 2023. AP
Stand-up fan Wenlai Cai, a Los Angeles-based software engineer in her 30s, said she likes hearing jokes about LGBTQ life and race relations, topics that are strictly prohibited on the mainland.
But “there should be limits to (joking about) high-level politics,” Cai said. “I mean, political leaders, partisanship… I don’t think there’s any point in talking about it.”
There are also some places that challenge Beijing’s sensibilities. Women’s Idea, a feminist group in New York City, hosts uncensored comedy shows that often deal with politics and encourage women to speak out 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, June 19, 2023. ZUMAPRESS.com
But even indirect references to politics make most Chinese-speaking audiences uncomfortable, Xi said. After performing at a Chinese restaurant in Australia, the owner asked him to be careful; In a stand-up competition, she didn’t get any votes from the audience.
He ended up performing almost exclusively in English-speaking venues.
Zhu Jiesheng, who runs a stand-up comedy club in Madrid, reviews other performers’ jokes before going on stage and asks them to make jokes that might cross political lines.
But when a comedian insisted on telling jokes about the Shanghai lockdown, Zhu didn’t stop him.
The audience didn’t get the jokes, Zhu said, and arguments began backstage, leaving him more convinced that politics and comedy don’t mix.
Comedians are well aware that people can get in trouble for what they say.
When asked about Li Haoshi, the comedians said he should have known better.
Zhong Di, a student who runs a comedy club in Milan, performs in Milan, Italy, Saturday, July 8, 2023. AP
“Even if you don’t make mistakes but someone else does, that affects the entire industry,” said Zhong Di, a 30-year-old student in Milan who also performs as a comedian.
Lin, who recently returned to China to pursue a career in stand-up, said the industry is still recovering from the crackdown unleashed by his prank.
The Associated Press could not 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 monologue in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2022. AP
China has a history of harassing its citizens abroad for their activism. He has also threatened international stars abroad with boycotts or bans from performing in China.
Nigel Ng, a UK-based Malaysian comedian who created the popular “Uncle Roger” character, lost his Chinese social media accounts after a clip from a live show in which he joked about China listening to him went viral. through cell phones.
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Vicky Xu, a Chinese-born journalist in Australia who also performs stand-up comedy in English, said the Chinese have a long history of making jokes about sensitive topics.
“If you look back at a lot of the movies or TV shows made in China 20 or 30 years ago, there are more political jokes than there are today. So how do you explain that? she said.
Xu, whose work is critical of the Chinese government and who has received harsh criticism from China’s official media and nationalist trolls, said politics affects people’s lives in China so much that not talking about it is “ignoring the elephant in the room.”
When comedians return to China, they face restrictions beyond those they impose on themselves abroad.
Lin said censorship is important to avoid “chaos,” but submitting your material to censors weeks before performances remains a challenge.
“No one told me what I could or couldn’t say,” Lin said, “which is pretty difficult. I just hand over what I have and change it if it is not approved.”
In Australia, Xi does not plan to stop joking about his famous namesake.
“I’m nobody,” Xi said, “and after all, I have an Australian passport… I’ll keep telling these jokes.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn