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.

Double standards

[wonkey_monkey]

Xinhua announced on social media Friday

So they ban April Fools' Day but still celebrate Social Media Friday? What a country.