On April 9, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “CCTV Host to be Punished for Mao Insults Seen in Video.” Some excerpts:
These screenshots show that Baidu shut down its “Bi Fujian” PostBar (Tieba 贴吧) forum on April 11/12.
China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday announced that it would punish one of its hosts after a video footage of his political comments at a dining table went viral.
Bi [Fujian] was seen in the video singing parts of Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, an iconic play created during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), featuring a Communist soldier, who disguised as a bandit to infiltrate local bandits in Tiger Mountain in Northeast China.
He also used insults to describe late chairman Mao Zedong, saying that Mao led people to misery.In an article entitled “Famous TV Host Suspended for ‘Improper Remarks',” the state sponsored China Daily quoted Cheng Manli (程曼丽), a professor specializing in communication at Peking University, as saying:
"It does not mean we cannot share our opinions, but using ugly words and sarcasm to comment on Chinese leaders who have passed away is improper.”
"The actions and words of celebrities are easily exaggerated in today's Internet era, which is transparent and can have a huge influence, so it is a must for the public figures to boost the quality of their speech and behavior. Otherwise, their images will be affected, such as the stars who were recently punished for drug use.”
"Everyone should take responsibility for what he or she says in public and online. It's better, I think, to share different ideas in a normal way."These screenshots show that Baidu began censoring search results for “Bi Fujian” (毕福剑) on April 9/10.
