2023-05-30 08:13:48
Censorship of the Chinese art scene has increased under President Xi Jinping’s decade (here, the swearing-in of the president in March 2023). NOEL CELIS/AFP
The producer of Li Haoshi’s show has been fined nearly two million euros, raising fears of a further tightening of censorship in China.
The severe sanction recently pronounced against a show producer has cast a chill over the Chinese cultural milieu, reminding us that free artistic expression is increasingly limited. Last week, the authorities fined the production company Xiaoguo Culture Media nearly two million euros and suspended its shows after a joke, deemed inappropriate, by a comedian about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ).
Comedian Li Haoshi hijacked a famous army slogan, which authorities said was a violation of the law and had “negative consequences” on the society. During a show on May 13, the comedian explained that he had adopted two “fierce dogs”. He told the story of a chase with squirrels, explaining that in his eyes, his two dogs were “capable of winning battles and in style”. In a speech in 2013, Xi Jiping said one of the Communist Party’s goals was to “to build a people’s army that follows Party commands, is able to win battles and with style.”
China’s art scene has always been censored by the Communist Party, but under President Xi Jinping’s decade, the authorities increased their surveillance.
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Fears of the cultural milieu
The sanction imposed on Xiaoguo reflects the fact that “the authorities’ margin of tolerance for non-conformist speech is even narrower“, Estimated with AFP Vivienne Shue, specialist in contemporary China at the University of Oxford. Previously, “it was more common“to see people crossing the line”get away with a simple warning“, according to her. In the case of Li Haoshi, authorities fined Xiaoguo and opened an investigation against the comedian.
According to Steve Tsang of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, this sanction “was clearly pronouncedto arouse fear within the cultural milieu. Following this sanction, musical and humorous shows were canceled throughout the country. In some cases, the “force majeurewas invoked but, for others, no reason was mentioned.
Concerts and shows canceled
Japanese musician Kanho Yakushiji’s concerts, scheduled in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, have been canceled and the artist said on Instagram that he did not know the reason. An employee of a performance hall in Shantou (south) claimed that a rock concert was postponed without him knowing why. Several artists contacted by AFP did not want to comment on the current climate, fearing that it would worsen the situation.
Stand-ups, relatively new in China, are particularly risky because “it’s hard to know what the limits are», Estimates Xiaoning Lu, of the SOAS. Some nationalists see them as imported from the West, she said.
“The right political direction”
The Communist Party has always drastically controlled the artistic milieu, co-opting some for political propaganda purposes and repressing all those bordering on dissent. For the founder of communist China Mao Zedong, there was noof art detached or independent from politics». «Censorship and self-censorship have always existed even if their intensity has been different from one era to another“, estimates Sheng Zou, of the Baptist University of Hong Kong. In recent years, the government has issued new “moral guidelinesrequiring comedians to embody positivity and patriotism. He also attacks what he calls the “abnormal aestheticsin the media, focusing on images of effeminate-looking men. Last week, Xi Jiping wrote to staff at the National Art Museum of China, urging them to “adhere to the right policy direction“, according to state media.
Announcing the fine imposed on the entertainment producer, authorities said they hoped that “writers and artists (would conform) to laws and regulations, correct their creative thinking (and) strengthen their moral culture». «The limits of appropriate humor have always been elastic in China, depending on the political climate», Estimates Xiaoning Lu, of the SOAS. With the Xiaoguo incident, a new red line has been set, for Vivienne Shue, from Oxford. The military institution must be considered as “sacredand shouldn’t be a joke, she explains.
These new limits are an extension of the nationalist spirit that Xi Jinping has personally promoted since coming to power. He frequently referred to the slogan mocked by Li Haoshi and praised the army’s strength in national information campaigns. “In China, anything that undermines dignity and national pride is not trivial», notes Sheng Zou, of the Baptist University. “This is where the interests of the state and public opinion most often come together».
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