li hao, known by stage name "house," was doing a skit about stray dogs chasing a squirrel earlier this month. he said they reminded him of eight words, a popular party slogan for the people's liberation army. that joke and those eight words landed house in the doghouse. a 2021 law bans insults on the chinese military. house is now under police investigation in beijing, suspended indefinitely. plus a massive $2 million fine on his former employer, a fledgling industry now in danger. all that after the comedian posted a public apology, promising to deeply reflect and
>> translator: the spirit of general secretary xi jinping's speech, the country is the people. >> reporter: the jokes are communist party propaganda. punctuated by silly sound effects. parroted back by a studio audience that almost resembles after-school detention. a fate far worse than detention awaits comedians who may be tempted to push party rules, as china exercises very tight control over comedy shows. li hao, known by stage name "house," was doing a skit about stray dogs chasing a squirrel earlier this month. he said they reminded him of eight words, a popular party slogan for the people's liberation army. that joke and those eight words landed house in the doghouse. a 2021 law bans insults on the chinese military. house is now under police
this man was doing a skit about straight dogs chasing a squirrel. he said they reminded him of eight words. that joke, and those eight words, landed him in the dog house. a 2021 law bans insults on the chinese military. he is under investigation, suspended and a massive $2 million fine on his former employer. all that after he posted a public apology. promising to deeply reflect and re-educate himself. he joins a list of comedians canceled in china for jokes that runauthorities. some made outside the country.