NUTS

China Punishes Comic’s Squirrel Joke With $2M Fine

Seems like a bit of an overreaction.

A Chinese comedy company was hit with a fine of over $2 million after authorities took exception to a joke told by one of the firm’s acts. Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co was handed the hefty punishment in connection with a joke told by Li Haoshi at a Beijing stand-up show on May 13, in which Li discussed seeing two dogs he’d adopted chasing a squirrel. He said it reminded him of the phrase “have a good work style, be able to fight and win battles”—which was a slogan used by Chinese President Xi Jinping to praise the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2013. “We will never allow any company or individual use the Chinese capital as a stage to wantonly slander the glorious image of the PLA,” the Beijing arm of China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism Bureau said. Xiaoguo Culture blamed the incident on “major loopholes in management” and said it had terminated its contract with Li.