• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

China's Twitter erases John Oliver after scathing Xi Jinping skit

I got a lot of kicks how Xi Jinping hates being compared to Winnie the Pooh. But China becoming an almost Authoritarian state is sound.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-...es-john-oliver-after-scathing-xi-jinping-skit
Parody of Chinese president covered human rights abuses and memes comparing Xi’s figure with Winnie the Pooh
xi-pooh.jpg


The British comedian John Oliver has been scrubbed from China’s version of Twitter after the host of Last Week Tonight ran a 20-minute segment satirising Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Oliver’s scathing parody of Xi on Sunday covered human rights abuses, “dystopian levels of surveillance and persecution” of Uighurs in China’s western Xinjiang province, the continued detention of Liu Xia, wife of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo who died last year in state custody, and online censorship, including memes comparing Xi’s figure with that of Winnie the Pooh.

“Clamping down on Winnie the Pooh comparisons doesn’t exactly project strength. It suggests a weird insecurity,” Oliver said.

In his take down of Xi’s China, Oliver also highlighted the expansion of the social credit scoring system, the elimination of term limits made earlier this year, and China’s heavy economic influence around the world.

“Under Xi Jinping China is becoming more authoritarian just as it has major plans for expansion on the world stage … China has significant economic leverage and it has been using that to silence criticism even when criticism is very much warranted.”

The show ended with a parody of an advertisement promoting China’s massive Belt and Road infrastructure project with children singing, “This is the China Xi doesn’t want you to see, and that’s the reason why you better watch this guy.”

 

RubxQub

φίλω ἐξεχέγλουτον καί ψευδολόγον οὖκ εἰπόν
I mean, I don't think anyone should be surprised by this, right? I'm more wondering if John needs to worry about getting an attempt at his life over the shit he stirs up.

John's using his platform in an amazing way, really digging deep into issues. Trying to activate people watching to be more than passive observers of these problems and give them tools to do something about it. It's insanely admirable.

I think he's got his bias, for sure. But I don't think I've seen him intentionally mislead people.
 
Top Bottom