Chinese police arrest woman who defended comic’s military joke

Chinese authorities have arrested a woman for defaming the People’s Liberation Army after she backed a comedian’s joke about a Xi Jinping military slogan that sparked a nationwide uproar.

The 34-year-old woman, identified by her last name Shi, was arrested on Tuesday evening for posting inappropriate remarks about the military, according to a Bloomberg report, citing police in the northeastern city of Dalian saying in a statement on Wednesday.

The dignity of Chinese soldiers must be respected, added the statement posted to China’s Twitter-like Weibo.

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How it unfolded

It all started when popular comedian Li Haoshi, known as House, in one of his appearances likened the behavior of two wild dogs to the work ethic described by a military slogan Xi had once used at a PLA gathering.

According to Reuters, Li mentioned he had adopted two stray dogs he was watching chase a squirrel. He said the scene made him think of a phrase used by by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that roughly translates to “Fight well, win the battle.”

Audio released on Chinese social media websites show the audience laughed in response, but one audience member made a complaint, and the joke soon received criticism for being seen as disrespectful.

Li was suspended from the Xiaoguo Culture Media firm in Shanghai, which had represented him, and his account on the Chinese social media site Weibo was suspended after he posted an apology, saying he felt “deeply guilty and regretful.”

A subsidiary of the firm was fined $1.91 million and it would have to give up $189,000 in “illegal gains” from Li’s performance, according to a CNN report.

Shi had questioned the suspension of the comedian.

“Why should HOUSE be banned? Aren’t all soldier brothers just dog brothers?” Bloomberg quoted Shi as writing on Weibo, citing the state-run Global Times newspaper.

However, Bloomberg said it could not verify the post, which appeared to have been removed.

China enacted a law in 2021 criminalising insults against the military, prompting authorities to take a harder line on criticism of the PLA.

Police in Beijing announced on Wednesday they were probing Li for “seriously insulting the PLA.”

The fallout

The backlash appeared to have a chilling effect on China’s live performance industry on Thursday. At least two comedy club operators — Danliren Comedy and C+ Talkshow Club — cancelled some of their upcoming performances, according to the National Business Daily and a statement on the latter company’s WeChat account.

Japanese band Kissaquo abruptly pulled a show in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday night. A statement on the band’s official Weibo account said the cancellation was ordered by government agencies out of “force majeure.” Kissaquo did not immediately reply to a request for comment, according to a Bloomberg report.

With inputs from agencies

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