No Joke. April Fools' Day Has Been Banned In China (washingtonpost.com)

Reader schwit1 quotes an article by Simon Denyer, who heads The Washington Post's China bureau: The ancient tradition of hoaxing and playing practical jokes on the first day of April has fallen victim to China's crackdown. Like democracy and free speech, it is a Western concept that simply isn't welcome here."'April Fools' Day' is not consistent with our cultural tradition, or socialist core values," state news agency Xinhua announced on social media Friday. "Hope nobody believes in rumors, makes rumors or spreads rumors." As part of a long-running effort to win control of the narrative on social media and deter dissent, China's Communist Party launched a campaign three years ago to criminalize the spreading of rumors. Xinhua's post suggests an April Fools' Day prank that mocked or undermined the Party could have potentially serious consequences.

Comments

The Chinese are smarter than Americans

[Anonymous Coward]

They get how fucking stupid April 1 jokes are.

Re:The Chinese are smarter than Americans

[Kohath]

April Fools jokers are assholes. We need a day dedicated to telling people to stop being an asshole.

Re:The Chinese are smarter than Americans

[Anonymous Coward]

April Fools reminds people to skeptically evaluate what "official sources" tell them. It encourages people to question things. To not take them at face value. To wonder what the truth really is. Of course the government of China doesn't like that. It's the opposite of what they want. They want the public to blindly accept what the government or any other official source tells them, not to question it. Not on April 1, and not on any other day.

April Fools jokers are not assholes. They're fighting for a world where people are skeptical and questioning. That's a good thing, because it means people will hopefully apply that all the other days of the year when they hear a headline or read a news article. "Is this for real?" is a question we should be asking all the time.

Besides the Chinese government or any other oppressive government, I can also see why the gullible might not like that kind of demonstration.

Re:Stop using the term "crackdown"

[KGIII]

I have never thought of it that way. The government almost always seems to think what they're doing is moral and just. But, the word crackdown means tyranny or oppression to me. For better or worse, every law is reducing someone's liberties - such as the liberty to own slaves. (It's probably a good idea to have that law. Don't get me wrong.)

Anyhow, whenever I hear a government crackdown is going on - it usually means they're going trampling on someone's liberties or, worse, freedoms.