Two recent WeChat posts express concern about mounting official interference in 相声 xiàngsheng, the traditional northern-Chinese form of fast-paced stage comedy known in English as crosstalk. These anxieties are acute, but not...
This year, China Media Group’s (CMG) annual Spring Festival Gala variety show, celebrating the advent of the Year of the Snake, featured the usual line-up of song and dance routines, operatic and acrobatic feats, comedic skits...
Caving to online male backlash that included a threatened boycott, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com announced that it would scrap its November 11 “Singles Day” shopping festival collaboration with comedian Yang Li (杨笠, Yáng Lì)....
As the room for expression in China continues to shrink under Xi Jinping, many Chinese people are finding more tolerant political environments abroad. Some disenchanted Chinese citizens have made the difficult decision to “run,”...
CDT Chinese editors have compiled a series of year-end articles on special topics such as 2023’s most sensitive and oft-censored words (parts one and two), most notable reports, outstanding people of the year (stand-up...
To round out 2023, CDT Chinese compiled a series of year-end articles on a number of special topics, including sensitive words (part one and part two), censored articles, “rollover scenes,” and notable reports. This post...
In part two of our retrospective on the most sensitive topics of 2023, as selected by our Chinese team, we focus on dissent and disasters. In part one we covered long-standing taboos on discussions about Xi Jiping and the...
Censors took down a Zhihu question-and-answer that asked, “Why don’t young people watch Xinwen Lianbo anymore?” Xinwen Lianbo, China Central Television’s flagship evening news program since 1978, is among the most watched...
The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Carry out a comprehensive cleanup of all content related to the band “Slap” (delete...
In mainland China, August 1 is known as PLA Day or Army Day, and commemorates the establishment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 1927. This year, the celebration of the PLA’s 96th anniversary coincided with a...
If the lesson last week was “Don’t laugh about the PLA,” this week’s message seems to be, “Don’t even crack a smile.” First, stand-up comedian Li Haoshi (stage name “House”) was accused of defaming the People’s Liberation...
The (talk) show is over. Comedian Li Haoshi, who made a joke involving the People’s Liberation Army last weekend, has been detained by Beijing police according to a report from BBC’s Chinese news service. As of publication, no...
Word(s) of the Week: Forge Exemplary Conduct, Fight to Win (作风优良，能打胜仗 zuòfēng yōuliáng, néngdǎ shèngzhàng) On Saturday at the Century Theater in Beijing, a stand up comic joked that his dogs’ pursuit of squirrels brought to mind...
A Hangzhou court has found a journalist guilty of defamation for accusing a senior colleague of sexually assaulting her in 2009, dealing the nation’s #MeToo movement a courtroom defeat. In 2018, He Qian alleged that Deng Fei...
U.S.-based British comedian John Oliver’s name has become a sensitive word on Weibo following a...
Mark Rowswell, a.k.a. Dashan, discusses his transition from traditional cross talk to stand-up...
After another escalation of provocative rhetoric from North Korea, Jon Stewart mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the country’s clear use of photoshop in propaganda on the April 2 episode of The Daily Show. The...
Last week late night comedian Conan O’Brien blasted a Chinese TV show, Dapeng, for blatantly ripping off his opening sequence: Now, Shanghaiist points us to a response issued by Dapeng in which he apologizes to...
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