So, two Chinese traitors walk into a bar in Hong Kong... Well, not quite. As it turns out, only one traitor was actually allowed past Immigration. The other was denied entry before he could even get on a plane.
OK, so two Chinese traitors, almost walk into a bar. Well... Let’s back up and see if they are really traitors to begin with. One of the traitors is not actually traitorous; she merely played a traitor in a movie. But now that you think about it, her character wasn’t actually a traitor, either—she was a sympathetic character who got mixed up with the wrong guy, and one could say she had traitorous leanings... The other guy, though. He’s definitely a traitor.
Alright, back to the joke: One Chinese traitor and one Chinese actress famed for playing quasi-traitorous characters, almost walk into a bar... You know, this is getting too complicated. For clarity’s sake, the actress is “Lust Caution” lead Tang Wei, who has banned by the mainland from appearing in any film, TV broadcast or advertisement for playing a fallen double agent. The second is Tiananmen student organizer Wang Dan, now living in exile in the United States and banned from entering China. Wait a minute... He’s considered a traitor because he organized a peaceful protest for student’s rights and greater government accountability? That’s kinda like Gandhi being called a traitor of India. Perhaps let’s just call him a “so-called traitor” then.
Anyway, let’s set that aside. The actress famed for playing quasi-traitorous characters and the “so-called traitor” walk into a bar in Hong Kong. That would be easy for the first “traitor,” Tang Wei. She was just granted Hong Kong Permanent Residency. However, it will be harder for Wang Dan to get there because he lives in the US, and the Hong Kong Immigration Department just denied him entry last week. Guess he won’t be able to make it to the academic seminar he was invited to attend. He certainly won’t be able to make it to SoHo. But surely that must be a mistake... It’s two systems, after all. Sigh... Well, at least Tang Wei made it to Hong Kong. And at least the government won’t intervene in her career here, and her life won’t be totally ruined for her one role in “Lust Caution.” Right? Actually, given that China suddenly appears to be able to control Hong Kong immigration, can we really be sure that Tang will be free to do what she wants?
OK, isn’t it about time for the punch line? Yes, there must be a punch line here somewhere...