SINGAPORE: A joke about President Xi got the social media accounts of comedian Nigel Ng, better known as Uncle Roger, suspended in China.
Ng is one of many comics whose accounts have been suspended in a Beijing crackdown on those making fun of the Chinese government.
On May 16, the British-Malaysian Ng uploaded a clip on Twitter from a show where he asks a man in the audience where he’s from.
Uncle Roger about to get cancelled.
🎟️ Buy the FULL SHOW now to watch from home: https://t.co/ebzr06mDV9
Dropping June 4 on @momentworld pic.twitter.com/zmYtTp0tBh
— Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger) (@MrNigelNg) May 15, 2023
When the man answers, “Guangzhou, China”, the comic makes a face.
He then goes on to say, “Good country! Good country! We have to say that now, correct? All the phones listening … this nephew got Huawei phone, they all listening.”
Pretending to tap his phone, which is in his pocket, he adds, “Long live President Xi, long live President Xi …
“Uncle Roger social credit score going up,” he jokingly adds.
Instead, his accounts on Weibo and Bilibili, followed by 400,000 people, got suspended because of a “violation of relevant laws and regulations”.
Another comic, Li Haoshi, best known by his stage name House, got into trouble earlier this month for cracking a joke that allegedly made fun of the People’s Liberation Army.
Since 2021, jokes about the PLA have been a criminal act.
A woman who defended Li online was also arrested. The entertainment firm that represents him, Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media, apologised for the joke.
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism fined a subsidiary of the company around US$2 million (S$2.7 million).
In the wake of the suspension, many netizens voiced support for “Uncle Roger”.
Others, however, said he should not have made political jokes.
/TISG