SCMP highlights: 7 of this week’s most read stories
- From a Chinese comedy troupe being fined to the grievances of Hong Kong’s pilots, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues.
1. Chinese comedy troupe hit with US$2 million penalty for making jokes about PLA
A Chinese entertainment group has been fined and had performances in the capital suspended after a stand-up comic made fun of the People’s Liberation Army. The group was ordered by a Beijing regulator to forfeit 1.3 million yuan (US$186,000) in income from performances in the capital and fined 13 million yuan (US$1.9 million). The PLA’s Western Theatre Command ground forces also weighed in, criticising the comic Li Haoshi’s words as “shameless remarks”.
Real feelings of provocation, insult and outrage
The jokes had made fun of a popular PLA slogan about winning battles according to reports on social media, comparing it with two dogs chasing a squirrel.
2. Why are Cathay Pacific pilots so unhappy?
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has lost more than half of its senior pilots since late 2019, with the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association saying the airline had 3,840 pilots in total in 2019 but only 2,417 last month. With their pay and benefits slashed, pilots “are very frustrated and morale is very low”, association chairman Paul Weatherilt said. A senior pilot’s wife told SCMP that her husband’s monthly income could fluctuate by 50 per cent under the new pay system, adding her husband suffered “a complete breakdown, like nervous exhaustion” last year.