Comedy troupe hit with £1.7 million fine by Chinese authorities after military gag
The IndependentA Chinese comedy troupe has been hit with a £1.7million fine by authorities after one of its entertainers made a joke about the military. Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co, the group who Li belongs to, was accused of “harming society” by authorities and the incident has sparked debate amongst the Chinese public as to what type of jokes are inappropriate. The Beijing arm of China‘s Ministry of Culture and Tourism Bureau determined that the comedy group had breached rules and fined it £1.7million “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 cultural bureau said, adding that Xiaoguo Culture would be barred from staging any future shows in the capital. Founded in Shanghai in 2015, Xiaoguo Culture’s popularity has grown in sync with China‘s embrace of stand-up comedy and had known for raising the profile of hundreds of local comedians.
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