Chinese Comedians Living Abroad Are Winning Fans. But Some Topics Are Off Limits

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11 Dec, 2023
Chinese Comedians Living Abroad Are Winning Fans. But Some Topics Are Off Limits

WASHINGTON — Comedian Xi Diao says he knows how to avoid talking about politics on stage, but sharing his last name with Chinese President Xi Jinping makes it hard to resist.

Even his name is politically sensitive, an aspiring Melbourne comedian joked to an audience about a group chat on Chinese messaging service WeChat being closed as soon as he joined.

The 33-year-old civil engineer laughs nervously, breaking a practical 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 by name, and not discussing social issues like China's extremely strict quarantine restrictions or domestic violence.

"Unfortunately, if the environment is open, a world-class person will emerge," Xi Jinping said.

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Stand-up comedy in Chinese is on the rise, not just in China. In the past decade, the media has gained popularity and Chinese immigrants have established clubs in cities such as New York, Tokyo and Madrid.

Comedians are known to be tight-lipped, but most Chinese-language comedians and many fans say some topics have no place in a comedy club.

China has censors who watch comedy and punish artists who cross political red lines. Earlier this year, an entertainment company was fined nearly $2 million after star comedian Li Haoshi made a joke referencing a Chinese martial song.

Although foreign comedians say they are not afraid of punishment, most say that political jokes are not funny and do not bother people. Many people are not that familiar with political humor because they grew up in a country where it was mostly censored.

Businessman Guo Jia, who owns a comedy club, performs in Tokyo on April 9

"We do what the audience likes," said Guo Jia, a businessman who runs a comedy club in Tokyo. He said anxiety about politics is part of Chinese culture, comparing it to racial sensitivity in the United States.

"There are certain areas where people don't want to go, but usually it's not because of government policy, but because of social pressure, culture or religion," said Michelle Hawkes, professor of Chinese literature and director of the Liu Institute. Asia and for Asia. He studied at the University of Notre Dame.

Comedians really push social boundaries.

For Lin Dongjiao, a 28-year-old comedian who started acting while living in Toronto, it was a chance to speak publicly about a congenital disease that causes aging and make people laugh with him about Chinese society's attitude toward people with disabilities. . . .

Lin Dongjiao, whose stage name is Guaji, will perform in Toronto on June 10th. Lin returned to China to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.

Stand-up fan Wenlai Cai, a software engineer in her 30s from Los Angeles, said she likes hearing jokes about LGBTQ life and race relations, topics strictly forbidden on the mainland.

But "high-level politics (jokes) should have a limit," Tsai said. "That is, political leaders, factions... I think there is no point in talking about it."

There are few places that defy Beijing sensibilities. Women's Ideas, a feminist group in New York City, produces censorship-free comedy shows that often address politics and encourage women to express their views on social and political issues.

But even controversial references to politics are unsettling for most Chinese-speaking audiences, Xi said. After performing at a Chinese restaurant in Australia, the owner tells him to be careful; He did not receive a vote from the public in the stand-up competition. As a result, he performs almost exclusively in English-speaking venues.

Zhu Zesheng, who runs a stand-up comedy club in Madrid, watches other performers' jokes before going on stage and asks them to make jokes that cross political lines.

But when the comedian insisted on making jokes about the Shanghai quarantine, Zhu didn't stop him. Zhu said the audience didn't get the joke and a backstage discussion ensued, reinforcing to him that politics and comedy don't mix.

Comedians know all too well that people can get in trouble for their words. When asked about Li Haoshi, the comedians said he should know better.

"Even if you don't make mistakes and someone else makes them, it affects the whole industry," said Zhong Di, a 30-year-old student from Milan who also performs as a stand-up comedian.

Lin, who recently returned to China to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, said the industry is still recovering from pressures stemming from his jokes.

China has a history of persecuting its citizens abroad for their activism. It also threatened to boycott or ban foreign international stars from performing in China.

Vicky Xu, a Chinese-born Australian journalist who also speaks English, says the Chinese have a long history of poking fun at sensitive topics.

“If you look at a lot of movies and TV shows made in China 20 or 30 years ago, there are more political jokes than there are today. And how do you explain it? he said.

Xu, whose work has criticized the Chinese government and drawn harsh criticism from official Chinese media and nationalist trolls, said politics affects people's lives in China so much that not talking about it is the "elephant in the room."

When comedians returned to China, they faced restrictions imposed on them abroad.

In Australia, Xi Jinping is not about to stop making jokes about his famous name.

"I'm nobody," Xi said, "and finally I have an Australian passport... I'll keep telling these jokes."

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