Xi Jinping Remarks Parodied... Chinese Comedian Faces Expulsion Risk

"Comparing the People's Liberation Army to Stray Dogs as an Insult"

A comedian who parodied remarks made by Chinese President Xi Jinping is facing the risk of suspension.

According to local media including Xin Jing Bao on the 16th, comedian Li Haos, who performs under the stage name 'House,' has come under comprehensive investigation after quoting President Xi's remarks during a recent performance held in Beijing.

Chinese comedian Li Haos.
Photo by Yonhap News

On the 13th, House shared a personal story during his performance about adopting and raising two stray dogs.

He introduced his story by saying that watching the stray dogs chase squirrels reminded him of the phrase "'Good conduct and able to win battles' (作風優良, 能打勝仗)."

This phrase is a key point from the "12-character policy" announced by President Xi in 2013 at the Party Congress when declaring the establishment of a new People's Army. At that time, President Xi used this phrase to firmly express his determination to create a new army, stating, "An army that follows the Party's command (聽黨指揮), can fight and win (能打勝仗), and has good conduct (作風優良) is exactly that."

Local netizens who saw this strongly criticized his remarks, saying that he insulted the Chinese People's Liberation Army by comparing it to stray dogs.

Chinese state media also joined the criticism. In a commentary posted on Weibo on the 16th, the media stated, "A talk show actor has offended the people's soldiers, and his agency is under investigation," adding, "If one pursues laughter unilaterally and crosses the line, they will fall into error."

Another media outlet reported that the authorities will investigate this incident and that punishments will be imposed depending on the investigation results.

As the controversy grew, House's agency apologized, stating, "We have suspended his activities indefinitely," and acknowledged that "an inappropriate analogy caused controversy."

Meanwhile, this is not the only case where a celebrity has faced difficulties due to parodies related to President Xi. Earlier in March, when the possibility of President Xi visiting Russia was raised, a famous Chinese comedian criticized the pro-Putin sentiment within China, leading to the sudden closure of his social media accounts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.