Top Chinese TV Star to Face Severe Punishment for Insulting Fascist Dictator Mao
One of China’s best known television presenters is to face “severe punishment” after being caught on camera referring to his country’s Great Helmsman, Mao Zedong, as an “old son of a bitch”.
As the host of “Star Boulevard” - a Britain’s Got Talent style variety show - Bi Fujian was one of the most recognisable faces on state broadcaster CCTV.
The 56-year-old had worked for the channel since 1989.
However, Bi’s future at the channel was cast into doubt in April after he was filmed at a private dinner mocking Chairman Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and ran it until his death in 1976.
The video – which has been viewed more than 480,000 times on Youtube – shows Bi entertaining fellow diners with a rendition of a song from a Cultural Revolution era opera called Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy.
The television host peppers his table-side performance with a series of sarcastic asides about Mao, including: “Don’t mention that old son of a bitch – he tormented us!”
Those “disparaging” remarks represented “a serious violation of political disciplines”, China’s media watchdog announced on Sunday. It called for CCTV, which had already suspended its star presenter, to impose a “severe punishment”.
In an editorial the China Discipline Inspection Daily, a state-run newspaper, said CCTV had been ordered to “educate its entire staff” in order to “combat behaviours that violate political disciplines and regulations”.
“There should be zero tolerance for such cases,” the newspaper added.
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