The costly punishment underscores the delicate line comedians must tread in China’s increasingly restrictive and heavily censored social environment and the stark consequences for those in the entertainment industry who are deemed to step out of line.
On Wednesday the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism said a subsidiary of the firm would be fined $1.91 million and deprived of $189,000 it made in “illegal gains” – an apparent reference to Li’s two live shows last weekend. The company was also indefinitely suspended from holding any performances in the capital.
He went on to say that their chase after a squirrel one day reminded him of eight words, before he unleashed the controversial punchline, according to audio posted to Chinese social media site Weibo. “We will never allow any company or individual to wantonly slander the glorious image of the People’s Liberation Army on a stage in the [Chinese] capital, never allow the people’s deep feelings for the soldiers to be hurt, and never allow serious subjects to be turned into an entertainment,” the culture authority said.Li had already apologized on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where he has 136,000 followers.