Chinese TV host to be punished for insulting Mao in private

Authorities ordered a state broadcaster to punish a popular TV celebrity for insulting Communist Party founder Mao Zedong at a private dinner, state media reported.

Bi Fujian, a television host with CCTV, has made some controversial comments about Mao Zedong-which have gone viral online-that are now being condemned as “a serious violation of political discipline” by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT).

His comments were filmed and posted online in April, causing a national debate, and he was suspended from his position shortly afterwards.

The China Self-discipline Inspection Day by day, a newspaper beneath the celebration’s anti-graft watchdog, stated Sunday that self-discipline inspectors on the broadcasting watchdog had discovered that Bi had violated “political self-discipline” in harming Mao’s picture.

According to BBC, Bi sang Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, “a Mao-era song which dramatises a 1946 incident where a soldier infiltrated and helped to destroy a group of bandits”.

Bi’s improvised lyrics went, “The Communist Party, Chairman Mao”.

Bi Fujian, who has been working for CCTV since 1989, is a nationally recognized television host. “As a public figure, I have learned my lesson and will observe self-discipline”.

In a statement on his official microblog, Mr Bi said at the time that he felt “extreme remorse and hurt” for the effect of his words.

Bi, who has since been replaced by another host on the popular talent show “Star Boulevard“, has apologized for his reckless comments. Some say that he deserves to be punished, while others defend him, citing that his remarks were made during a private party, and it was the fault of the person that leaked the video. However, he is also blamed for Stalinesque purges, for causing starvation with the disastrous agricultural experiment known as the Great Leap Forward, in which millions died, and in orchestrating the Cultural Revolution, an experiment in ideological extremism that he kick-started almost 50 years ago and in which many of today’s leadership suffered, including president Xi Jinping.