A joke by a Chinese stand-up comedian about the country's military was no laughing matter after it cost an entertainment firm more than $2 million (£1.6 million).
Li Haoshi, who goes by the stage name House, loosely referenced a phrase used to describe the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during his show at Beijing's Century Theater over the weekend.
His performance caught the attention of the authorities and as backlash towards Li grew, the comedian cancelled his upcoming performances while the entertainment company that represents him, Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media, apologised.
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On Wednesday (May 17), a subsidiary of the entertainment firm was fined $1.91 million (£1.53 million) and deprived of $189,000 (£151,000) it made in 'illegal gains', which refer to Li's two live performances last weekend.
The company has also been suspended indefinitely from holding any performances in the capital city.
The costly punishment demonstrates China's stringent censorship on issues deemed too sensitive — from criticism of the Communist Party to women's cleavage — and the extreme consequences for performers who are deemed to step out of line.
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A statement by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism accused Li of 'seriously insulting' the military and 'causing bad social impact'.
It also added that Li, his agent and all relevant parties would be subject to further investigation.
The joke in question seems pretty innocuous.
During the show, Li began a skit about how he had adopted two stray dogs when he moved to Shanghai.
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According to audio posted to Chinese social media site Weibo, he recalled how the dogs chasing a squirrel one day reminded him of eight words — “Fine style of work, capable of winning battles." Pretty innocent, right?
The Chinese authorities certainly didn't think so.
The punchline played off a widely known Chinese Communist Party slogan referring to the PLA, which was first used by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who also chairs the military, when describing what he wanted from the nation's army,
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The authorities called his use of the phrase 'a serious insult to the People’s Liberation Army'.
“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 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,” they said.
Li has since apologised on Weibo, where he has 136,000 followers.
“I will take all the responsibility and call off all my performances to deeply reflect and reeducate myself,” he wrote.
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He has also been suspended from all Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media productions indefinitely.
Bec Oakes