A military joke made by a comedian resulted in a 14.7 million yuan ($2.13 million) penalty against a famous comedy company in China. The joke made on China's military drew strong public criticism. Beijing arm of China’s ministry of culture and tourism bureau said it would fine Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co. 13.35 million yuan and confiscate 1.35 million yuan in “illegal gains” from the company over a recent show by Li Haoshi. Xiaoguo Culture would be barred from staging any future shows in Beijing, it added. Xiaoguo Culture blamed the incident on “major loopholes in management” and said it had terminated the comedian's contract.

Source: Hindustan Times May 18, 2023 15:16 UTC