Index on Censorship weekly news round-up
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Friday, 02 June 2023
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Illustration: Badiucao ([link removed])
It's rare that I get to start a newsletter on Winnie the Pooh but it was too irresistible not to, so please bear with me (excuse the pun). Winnie the Pooh, that hapless animal with a penchant for honey, ticks China's leader Xi Jinping off no end. It all started when Xi was pictured walking alongside then President Barack Obama in 2013 and a meme emerged comparing the shorter, portly Xi to Pooh and the slender, taller Obama to Tigger. Xi was not happy; Pooh became persona non grata and remains firmly on China's blacklist today. Don't visit the country Pooh Bear is all we can say.
It should come as no surprise then that a nation that makes an enemy of a beloved children's book character hasn't got much appetite for humour generally. But while there is overlap between the Chinese nation and the Chinese Communist Party they are not one and the same, and in recent years stand-up comedy has actually grown exponentially. People love it. For many it's an outlet for free expression in an ever-tightening space.
Still, there are lines - written and unwritten - and one comedian found himself on the wrong side of them last week when he poked fun at the national army. The comedian could now be facing years in jail, and the comedy group who had hired him has been issued with exorbitant fines. It's not the first time comedians have found themselves in hot water, but it is certainly the worst. Read our analysis on it here ([link removed]) from Dr Qian Gong and Dr Jian Xu.
Turns out their neighbour, Vietnam, also can't take a joke. A court has just jailed a noodle seller for five years for his viral video impersonating Salt Bae. Now I know what you're thinking - what does a celebrity Turkish chef known for his obscenely overpriced gold-laced steak have to do with Vietnam? Well Peter Lam Bui's video was posted just days after one of Vietnam's leading officials visited Bae's London restaurant, and was a dig at the official's lavish lifestyle at a time when those back home struggled under the weight of the Covid pandemic. Lam was in trouble almost immediately upon uploading the video, and has now been convicted of spreading anti-state propaganda by a court in Da Nang, according to his lawyer.
Neither of these incidents are funny and they've made us question whether a broader, more global attack of comedians is underway. With this in mind we'll be investigating further as part of a special report in the magazine later this year, so do subscribe if you haven't already. In fact we've decided to offer a special discount for newsletter readers right now. The code Newsletter50 will get you 50% off on Exact Editions here ([link removed].) . Go forth and read.
Jemimah Steinfeld
Editor-in-chief
** Lock-on, Stock and two smoking barrels
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[link removed] speech was in the spotlight in the UK on Tuesday when Kathleen Stock spoke at the Oxford Union. In the lead-up to the event featuring the gender-critical feminist and philosopher there were calls for it to be cancelled, newspaper articles and programmes were alight with commentary about free speech and there was even an intervention from Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. On the day, Stock turned up with a security escort. Her talk went ahead, in a room with people both cheering and jeering.
One protester (Riz Possnett, left ([link removed]) ) glued themselves to the floor and was escorted out by security. To our knowledge no protester was arrested, which came as a relief given the police's heavy-handed approach to both climate and anti-monarchy protesters who have been suspected of planning to "lock on". We've published a lot on free speech on campus, cancel culture and identity politics, and will continue to do so. Please do check out our archive. Looking for somewhere to start? We'd suggest here ([link removed]) with Sir Tom Stoppard's thoughtful take on the politics of identity and language.
** A night for Afghanistan | 15 June, Oxford
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Afghanistan is many things to many people. It's an ancient and beautiful land of rugged mountains and dazzling poppy fields, a place of literature and music. Its people are known to be welcoming, its food delicious, and its history - once an important stop on the Silk Road - is rich. But it's also a place of conflict, a place caught in so many cycles of violence over the decades that many people know it simply through the prism of war. Beautiful and battered - these sides exist together, and it is with both of them in mind that Index and the International Campaign for Afghanistan’s Musicians are co-hosting an evening in honour of Afghanistan. The evening, which will take place in Oxford, will see a panel discussion on the plight of journalists from Afghanistan, followed by a concert featuring new compositions by Afghan composers living in exile. This will be an unforgettable night to raise awareness around a very important cause. Click here
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** From the archive
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** Tiananmen Square: The hunger strike declaration, 2 June 1989
Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Duo, Hou Dejian, Gao Xin
September 1989
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"We are on hunger strike. We protest, we appeal, we repent. We are not in search of death; we are looking for real life." These are the opening words from the declaration issued by the four student leaders in Tiananmen Square just before the massacre on the night of 3/4 June 1989. Index will never forget the people who were murdered 34 years ago this weekend simply for fighting for more rights. We implore you to read their very simple requests ([link removed]) .
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Index on Censorship defends people's freedom to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution. We publish censored writers and artists, monitor and campaign against censorship, and encourage debate.
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