Banned by Beijing, this comedian is taking his act to Chinese speakers abroad

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Banned by Beijing, this comedian is taking his act to Chinese speakers abroadImage source, SuppliedImage caption, Chizi's 2026 tour began with the idea of performing in Taiwan - something he says was both risky and appealingByFan WangReporting fromSingaporePublished26 minutes agoWhen one of China's biggest stand-up comedians opened his show with a joke about the extraordinarily long rule of the country's leader Xi Jinping, it drew a cheer, alongside a smattering of approving profanities. "This is fire," a man shouted in Mandarin. Few in China would dare to joke about Xi, who has increasingly centralised power in his nearly 15 years in office.

But this was the National University of Singapore, where hundreds had packed into the auditorium, mostly Singaporean Chinese and those who had moved or were visiting from China. And the young man on stage, Chizi, knew the risks. In 2023, China banned him from performing in the country after a series of appearances abroad that touched on issues the government is particularly sensitive about, although there has never been an official statement saying why.

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Chizi does not live in China anymore and his name, once hugely popular, is a whisper now. "In China my face is treated like a sexual organ. It's not something that can be freely shown or circulated," he wrote in a recent Threads post after learning that a fan's social media account was suspended because they had shared his photo.

After a hiatus, he returned to the stage in April, kicking off a tour spanning Tokyo, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, selling out every show. At 30, Chizi, whose real name is Wang Yuechi, has been doing stand-up for more than 10 years. But this tour felt like his first "real piece", he told the in a sit-down interview the day after the show.

Many see his comeback as defiance, but he said, "I wanted to perform for people who speak Chinese, to introduce myself, showing them how I live, or think as someone who lived in China for 30 years. "'If it feels risky, I find it interesting'Chizi said he was always drawn to the challenge, and that shaped his comeback: "If something feels risky or dangerous, I find it interesting. "Like performing in Taiwan, a hot button for China, which has long claimed the self-governed island.

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"No Chinese comedian had ever performed in Taiwan," he explained. "People speak the same language and the cultures are so similar. But there are so many tensions.

Even if it turns into an argument, that's okay. We could argue face-to-face. "In his hour-long set, he mostly talked about his own story: an "overly talkative" kid who often frustrated the adults in charge, he discovered comedy in his late teens.

Image source, SuppliedImage caption, Chizi was one of China's biggest stand-up comedians until he was banned after performing in North America in 2023Now that he is performing outside of China, his jokes could push further but he said he "intentionally limited political humour" in his material for this tour.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.