A popular standup comedian and YouTube personality has been blacklisted in Chinese social media after he made fun of the Chinese communist regime.
Uncle Roger, a Youtube character played by British-Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, revealed over the weekend that he lost his Bilibili and Weibo accounts, where he had 400 thousand followers.
Ng suggested that it was the result of a video he posted on Twitter on May 16 in which he mocked Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s social credit system, Huawei and the “One China” policy.
The audience burst out in laughter before Ng continued: “We have to say that now. Correct? All the phone listening.”
“This nephew got a Huawei phone. They all listening. All our phone tap into it.”
Ng then looked down and tapped the phone in his trouser pocket, saying, “Long live President Xi.”
“Uncle Roger, social credit score going up, nice,” he said, joking about China’s dystopian social credit system, which uses big data, extreme surveillance, and documentation to assign each citizen a score that either rewards or punishes them.
Designed to track every Chinese citizen’s social and economic behaviour, the system is the CCP’s attempt at total control over its citizens’ lives, so if someone is classified as a political dissident by the CCP, that person is blacklisted, possibly keeping family members from essential activities in order to survive in society.
Ng later asked if anyone from the audience member was from Taiwan; when they wooed in response, he gagged, “[Taiwan is] not a real country.”
“I hope one day you rejoin the motherland. One China.”
Comedy Special Released on the Anniversary of 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre
The standup comedian, who had 7.8 million subscribers on Youtube, rose to popularity in 2020 for his portrayal of Uncle Roger, a stereotypical middle-aged Asian man reviewing an egg fried rice video in an exaggerated and pronounced accent.He has so far garnered a combined following of over 20 million across his social media platforms and collaborated with famous figures such as British chef Gordon Ramsay and Australian musician duo Two Set Violins.
Ng reposted the video three times on his Twitter under the captions “Uncle Roger about to get cancelled,” “For some reason this clip got a ton of views this past weekend. I wonder why,” and “If you support free speech and comedy go buy The HAIYAA Special.”
His HAIYAA Special show is set to be released on Moment World on June 4th, which, coincidentally, is the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
On Monday, Ng said his account was suspended for “violating relevant laws and regulations.”
Strictly Dumpling Controversy
In 2021, Ng collaborated on a video with Mike Chen, a US-based YouTuber famous for his food channel Strictly Dumpling and his travel food blog, Mikey Chen.The video, titled Uncle Roger Disgusted by Ugly Dumplings, shows the pair reviewing a New York chef’s dumplings and does not have any political element in nature.
However, Ng deleted the video one day later and apologised on Chinese social media for having Chen on his platform, saying he was not aware of Chen’s “political thoughts and incorrect comments about China in the past.”
Chen is openly critical of the CCP’s policies and human rights abuse, including its repression of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the Tiananmen Square massacre.
He has also uploaded a video of himself supporting a public demonstration of Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese spiritual practice rooted in the Buddhist tradition.
The practice, which consists of five meditative exercises and follows the tenets of Truth, Compassion and Forbearance, is famous for its positive impact on health and spirituality. However, adherents in China have been subject to severe persecution under the Chinese communist regime.
“I do hope that he learns more about the human rights abuses that the CCP has committed because he lives in a free country where he can do that.”
“The CCP uses many tactics to silence those who disagree with them or challenge them … And I think that’s what’s happening here.”
“I have always said that I love China and the kind-hearted Chinese people. They are my people. The CCP, however, is not China and certainly should not be equated to the Chinese people,” he added.
Many social media users also expressed disappointment in Ng’s actions at the time.
Another person on Twitter wrote: “Taste of RMB (Chinese money) is much better than MSG (a flavour enhancer commonly used in Asian dishes). Isn’t that right, Uncle Roger?”
Meanwhile, many Chinese netizens were still puzzled by what happened.
One person commented: “Uncle Roger’s political sensitivity is so high, we still don’t know what happened.”
