China investigating comedian for ‘insulting’ joke comparing army to dogs

PLA’s Western Theater Command says they cannot stand ‘provocative and insulting’ jokes

A Chinese comedian is being investigated by authorities for cracking a joke that compared a military slogan used by Xi Jinping to his adopted dogs.

Comedian Li Haoshi, who goes by the stage name House, was condemned by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and social media users after a clip of his controversial performance went viral on Twitter-like platform Weibo.

Mr Li said in his performance that the behaviour of two stray dogs he adopted was similar to “having a good work style, being able to fight and win battles” – a motto used by Mr Xi for the PLA in 2013, reported China Daily.

He said his two energetic dogs often chased squirrels, reminding him of the slogan and added that it had been widely used for the Chinese military and even featured in a popular military song.

The clip shows the audience laughing and clapping at Mr Li’s joke. His remarks, however, angered social media users.

Responding to the joke, the PLA’s Western Theater Command took to its official WeChat account to condemn the comments, calling them “provocative and insulting”.

“The PLA soldiers have a very tolerant attitude toward diverse cultures, but we cannot stand for this stupid joke, which is provocative and insulting,” the post said.

It said the military was anguished by the analogy, but glad to see the public siding with the army.

Following the backlash, Mr Li apologised for the joke, saying he was “ashamed” and took “full responsibility”.

“I am deeply ashamed for using a very inappropriate metaphor during my performance. I take full responsibility and will stop all shows to reflect on my actions,” Mr Li said in a statement.

The show, held in Beijing, was hosted by the Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Company, known for producing some of China’s most popular talk shows.

The company on Monday said it was suspending Mr Li indefinitely and apologised for his “inappropriate” comment.

The official newspaper for Mr Xi’s Chinese Communist Party denounced the comedian for “offending” the PLA, without naming Mr Li directly.

It said comedians should respect the limits for jokes and added that it would be a mistake to put humour before all things.

The PLA’s news media centre said the performance was “vulgar” and “harmful”.

The controversy became a top trend on Weibo, garnering over 320 million views and thousands of comments calling for action against the comedian.

“How come the crowd was still laughing?” asked a Weibo user.

“Forgetting their achievements equals a betrayal of all Chinese people,” said another.

“Comedians should also follow moral standards when telling jokes. There are things that should never be joked about, and they should know that well,” said Jin Feng, a WeChat user.

In 2021, China passed a law to criminalise insulting the military or military personnel in the country. Former journalist Luo Changping was prosecuted and jailed for seven months in 2022 for insulting Chinese soldiers depicted in a blockbuster movie about the Korean war.