The Chinese social media accounts of comedian Nigel Ng have been suspended amid what appears to be a crackdown on comedians by Beijing.
On Tuesday of last week, Ng tweeted a promotional clip for his impending show that lampooned China’s authoritarian government.
As his stage persona Uncle Roger, he quipped that his performance was “about to be canceled.”
Weibo and Bilibili, the Chinese equivalents of Twitter and YouTube, were suspended over the weekend.
On his Weibo account, where he has more than 400,000 followers, there is a message that reads, “The user has been banned from posting because he violated relevant laws and regulations.”
Ng reposted the video on Twitter on Monday, this time with the caption, “For some reason, this footage received a large number of views over the weekend. I question why”
In the video, Uncle Roger responded to a man from Guangzhou, China, by saying, “Excellent country, excellent country. We must say that immediately.”
He then made a jest about Beijing monitoring his smartphone: “They’re all listening.” All of our phones connect to it. Long live President Xi. Long hail President Xi.”
However, this is not Ng’s first encounter with China’s rigorous media climate.
He and Mike Chen, a popular Beijing Twitter critic and YouTuber, reviewed a dumpling recipe in January 2021.
Later, the 32-year-old comedian removed the video and apologized on Weibo. He stated that he “was unaware of his political views and previous incorrect comments about China.”
Ng’s YouTube video mocking BBC host Hersha Patel’s egg fried rice recipe, in which she washed and drained cooked rice in a colander, propelled him to prominence three years ago.
He is the most recent target of what appears to be a Beijing crackdown on comedians.
Li Haoshi was arrested last week after making a joke that compared his canines to a military slogan.
The company that employed him was also fined a disproportionately large 14.7 million yuan ($2.1 million; £1.7 million), sparking concerns that stand-up comedy could be eradicated in the country.
Li has expressed regret for his remarks, but he still faces up to three years in prison.
