Joke Backlash: China's Comedy Company Slapped With $2.13 Million Fine Over Military Jest

China has imposed a penalty of 14.7 million yuan ($2.13 million) on Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co, a prominent comedy company, for allegedly "harming society."

The penalty comes after one of its comedians, Li Haoshi (known as House), made a military joke that received significant public criticism.

The Beijing arm of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism Bureau announced that the company would be fined 13.35 million yuan and an additional 1.35 million yuan in confiscated "illegal gains." The authorities found that Li Haoshi's recent show had violated regulations.

The recent incident has sparked a significant division among the Chinese public regarding the appropriateness of certain jokes in the context of popular performances like stand-up comedy, reports Reuters.

Li's joke at a live stand-up set in Beijing on 13 May went viral in China last week, deemed as demeaning to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) by an audience member who posted a description of the joke on Chinese social media.

Li shared a joke about his adopted dogs chasing a squirrel. He connected this experience to a slogan used by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to celebrate the work ethic of the People's Liberation Army: "have a good work style, be able to fight and win battles".

"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, according to the report, adding that Xiaoguo Culture would be barred from staging any future shows in Beijing.

Xiaoguo Culture attributed the incident to "significant management loopholes" and announced the termination of Li's contract in response to the imposed fine.

Earlier, the company received a 200,000 yuan fine in 2021 for running advertisements that featured a comedian endorsing a lingerie brand, which included comments deemed as objectifying women.