KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng has been banned on Chinese social media for making fun of China’s authoritarian government.
At least three of his social media accounts on Weibo, billibili and Douyin were suspended after he posted a stand-up video with jokes about surveillance and China’s leader Xi Jinping last week.
A message on his Weibo account, where he has more than 400,000 followers, reads: "The user has been banned from posting as he has violated relevant laws and regulations.”
Ng, 32, is a London-based stand-up comic famous for his online and stage persona Uncle Roger, a bungling middle-aged Chinese uncle with an exaggerated accent.
Yesterday on Twitter, he reposted a promo clip of his upcoming show The Haiyaa Special with the caption: “For some reason this clip got a ton of views this past weekend. I wonder why.”
For some reason this clip got a ton of views this past weekend. I wonder why
— Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger) (@MrNigelNg) May 21, 2023
Remember, my full show THE HAIYAA SPECIAL drops in two weeks. Preorder now and let's watch it together on June 4: https://t.co/iMQ3lySEwzpic.twitter.com/zmYtTp0tBh
In the clip, he joked about being monitored by Beijing via his smartphone: “All the phone listening. They all listening. All our phones tap into it. Long live President Xi. Long live President Xi.”
Much to the audience's delight, he even joked about Taiwan not being a real country and said: “I hope one day it will rejoin the motherland. One China.”
Ng’s full stand-up show will premiere June 4, the anniversary of the bloody 1989 crackdown on democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
