Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping. Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary. In one performance, Huang Yi-hao insulted the Chinese leader’s appearance, compared him to Winnie-the-Pooh and tore into his political record. Prosecutors in New Taipei said on Wednesday that an individual from mainland China…
Tag: Comedy
For women in China frustrated by sexism, female comics are offering a release
Packed into the upstairs theatre of a small performing arts space in east Beijing, more than 100 people, mostly women, are giddy with anticipation. “Who did you come to see?” asks the MC, fashionably dressed in a faded denim two-piece suit. The answer is bellowed in unison back to him: “Fang Zhuren!” Fang Shaoli, AKA Director Fang (Fang Zhuren), has built a cult following in China in the past two years. Decidedly less fashionable than the evening’s host, Fang is dressed in a yellow hoodie and dark blue jeans. Her…
Being Towards Death review – Chinese hospital comedy drama uses plucky patients to ask big questions
‘You know the law of entropy? Life is a process of constant decay,” ssays a doctor in this Chinese hospital comedy drama – but not that you’d know it from the gabbling, frenetic first half-hour of director Chen Sicheng’s death-fixated film. Being Towards Death kicks off with caregiver Xiaobing (Jiang Long) about to throw himself off the roof because, after a scheme to flog his superiors care robots fails, he’s in hock to triad loan sharks. Thankfully the film later settles into an intermittently touching ensemble drama with a meta…
Seth Meyers on Trump sucking up to Xi: ‘What happened to standing up to China?’
Late-night hosts discussed Donald Trump’s trip to China and his mixed reception. Seth Meyers On Late Night, Seth Meyers noted that in Trump‘s first year of his second term his family made about $4bn, an “insane” figure that was “not even from doing anything” other than government contracts, shady crypto deals and memecoins. Recently, a 91-storey Trump tower on Australia’s Gold Coast was scrapped after it was decided that the Trump brand is “increasingly toxic” in the country. Meyers said that means a lot as “everything there is toxic”. He…
Stephen Colbert on Trump tanking the US economy: ‘Experts call it the poop chute’
On Wednesday, late-night hosts discussed Donald Trump’s visit to China, Marty Makary’s resignation as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner and reports of Maga’s lies over the success of the Iran war. Stephen Colbert On the Late Show, Stephen Colbert focused on Trump’s trip to China accompanied by CEOs, including Tim Cook and Elon Musk. “It is so satisfying to realize that no matter how rich or powerful you may be, there’s a chance you might get stuck on a plane with Elon Musk,” Colbert said. On Truth…
Chinese officials warn women comedians that men are no laughing matter
Chinese provincial officials have warned comedians against stirring up discord between the genders, instructing them to criticise constructively rather than “for the sake of being funny”. The warning came from authorities in eastern Zhejiang province on WeChat over the weekend after a comedian referred to her allegedly abusive marriage in a performance that went viral on Chinese social media. Women’s rights are sensitive territory in China – over the last decade, authorities have cracked down on almost every form of independent feminist activism. Zhejiang’s publicity department chastised some comedy shows…
Yolo review – smash-hit Chinese boxing drama is a tale of personal transformation
Jia Ling writes, directs and stars in this boxing drama with a twist: there’s not really very much boxing in it. In this smash hit from China, we’re introduced to Du Leying (Jia) as a no-hoper; the perspective, in fact, of the supporting characters and the film itself is that it would be hard to imagine a bigger loser. She’s 32, lives at home, doesn’t adhere to traditional beauty norms (particularly as regards body weight), and her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend. When this affair is…
Ping Pong review – cheerful, far-fetched caper that dives into London’s 1980s Chinatown
There’s a sweet charm to Leong Po Chih’s 1986 mystery-comedy Ping Pong, set in and around the restaurant businesses of London’s Chinatown, now rereleased. It was produced by Film Four, who two years later brought out Mike Newell’s comparably set Soursweet, based on the Timothy Mo novel, although that is more serious. Ping Pong is eminently likable, though for me there is something perhaps a little soft-edged and carefully paced which dampens the energy a bit. It is a cheerfully far-fetched caper that could have taken some influence from the…
Joy Ride review – slickly likable Asian-American comedy dwells on family and identity
Writer-producer Adele Lim, who worked on the script for Crazy Rich Asians, now makes her feature directing debut with this likable and brash Asian-American comedy about four women leaving the US for a trip to the Chinese homeland; they come to terms with their roots in various ways, expressing sexualities queer and straight and of course celebrating friendship. It all barrels along, with a journey-of-discovery narrative template not entirely dissimilar to the recent Book Club sequel; the energy levels are high and there are some outrageous gags, between which the…
Chinese police detain woman for supporting comedian who joked about military
Chinese police detained a woman for posting online in support of the comedian who was punished for making a joke that authorities said insulted the Chinese military. According to state media, the 34-year-old woman, reportedly surnamed Shi, admitted to police that she had posted “inappropriate” comments about Chinese soldiers. Shi’s post was in reaction to the stiff punishment delivered to Li Haoshi, also known as House, over a joke about two dogs chasing a squirrel reminding him of one of Xi Jinping’s military slogan. After an audio recording of the…