Funniest Jokes In the World

I was watching Jon Stewart's Daily Show last night about the Democratic convention in Charlotte, where he made fun of almost every one: Democrats, Republicans, politicians, voters, etc. He cited their self-contradictory speeches and comments, laughing at their empty promises and clumsy shows. He made me realize that politics can be the funniest jokes in the world: it actually happens in the real world, it is filled with ironic double standards and stupid claims, and it has been taken seriously by many people.

In China, it's still a felony to joke about political leaders, or "great leaders" as our media always refers to, even though they are making fun of themselves everyday. Our premier has been talking about the same policy every year since he took the office but never carried it out; a local official who was awarded with Honesty was found out to have embezzled millions of dollars in four years; and several official newspapers have used Photoshop to "produce" pictures of government officials' field visits. Awkward speeches and comments can be found everywhere as well. For example, after the collision of the new "Bullet train" in Wenzhou, a spokesman from Ministry of Railways was asked about his comments on finding a survivor in the damaged carriage after the Ministry of Railways ended  rescue and decided to bury the carriage. The spokesman was dumbfounded for a while, and then said:" I can only say it's a miracle." A journalist followed up and asked him whether he found the burying decision reasonable. The same guy answered :" No matter you believe it or not, I believe so." He shook his head after making the comments, seemingly trying to make himself sound more confident.

Weibo opens a door for audience to make mild jokes of politicians. People gave the Chinese Premier a nickname - "Best Actor" for all his show in the public; and another nickname for a local official: "cousin" (Biao Ge表哥), a punchline for "men wearing watches" for his splendid collection of Swiss watches which couldn't be afforded by his salary. But these jokes were never made public in mainstream medias, as they were censored in most websites to "keep social stability".

How I wish that we had a Jon Stewart who can collect these jokes from newspapers and internet, and showed people the messy politics in China. But I would be more thrilled if the environment for the birth of people like Jon and the TV program like the Daily Show becomes available in China. We have been following textbooks and teachers so strictly and so long that sarcasm seems to be a skill unobtainable. Even so, such talents may be provoked once the media censorship is removed.

(To take photos of government officials conducting field visits in the rain as demonstration of their hardworking, the newspaper arranged artificial rainfall.)