Launch more missiles, run more nuclear weapons tests, and ban sarcasm… perhaps the North Korean media is being ironic in praising Donald Trump. Brilliant, but only if you know better than your generals as long as they can be your generals. Trump loves to refer to things he owns, “my African-Americans”, “my generals”…
“The president that U.S. citizens must vote for is not that dull Hillary – who claimed to adapt the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula – but Trump, who spoke of holding direct conversation with North Korea.”
Trump is a “wise politician” and “far-sighted presidential candidate,” the Korean-language article in DPRK Today argues.
The editorial, attributed to Chinese North Korean scholar Han Yong-mook, is not official government policy. Yet it likely reflects the authoritarian regime’s thinking, experts told NK News.
“This is very striking,” Aidan Foster-Carter of the University of Leeds told NK News.
“Admittedly it is not exactly Pyongyang speaking, or at least not the DPRK government in an official capacity. But it is certainly Pyongyang flying a kite, or testing the waters. For the rest of us, this is a timely reminder – if it were needed – of just how completely Trump plans to tear up established U.S. policy in the region; and what an irresponsible, unthinking menace the man is.” www.nknews.org/…
“Yes, do it now,” the editorial urged Trump, reflecting Pyongyang’s long-held demand the U.S. troops leave the Korean peninsula. “Who knew that the slogan ‘Yankee Go Home’ would come true like this?”
Ratings challenged @CNN reports so seriously that I call President Obama (and Clinton) “the founder” of ISIS, & MVP. THEY DON’T GET SARCASM?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2016
Trump’s claimed “sarcasm” (Obama created ISIS(sic)) is in fact more hyperbolic than sarcastic, probably exempting him from any potential violations when President Trump visits Pyongyang.
Even indirect criticism of the authoritarian government has been banned, Asian media reported…
“This habit of the central authorities of blaming the wrong country when a problem’s cause obviously lies elsewhere has led citizens to mock the party,” an anonymous source said.
Another mocking expression, “A fool who cannot see the outside world,” was also said to be circulating in the totalitarian state, referring to the country’s notoriously isolationist leader.
The phrase was apparently conceived when officials voiced shock that Mr Kim did not attend celebrations held in Russia and China to mark the end of the Second World War.
Regional media have reported an increase in public acts of dissent in the country of late. Graffiti mocking the government and its leader have appeared twice in recent weeks…
Kim Jong Un just can’t take a joke. The last time the North Korean dictator found himself on the receiving end of some gentle ribbing, as the subject of James Franco and Seth Rogen’s assassination comedy The Interview, Kim’s repressive regime allegedly hacked Sony Pictures, apparently in retaliation.
NOW, THE ABSOLUTIST LEADER IS TAKING HIS HOSTILITY TOWARD HUMOR TO A FARCICAL NEW EXTREME, BANNING ALL SARCASM THROUGHOUT THE HERMIT KINGDOM IN AN ATTEMPT TO CRACK DOWN ON DISSENT AND QUASH ANY FURTHER LAUGHS AT HIS EXPENSE.
The Independent reports that North Korean party officials held several mass meetings across the country in an attempt to warn citizens that criticizing the state via indirect, ironic statements such as “This is all America’s fault” would be illegal and “unacceptable.”
And the consequences for disobeying are particularly unfunny: according to the nonprofit group Liberty in North Korea, any criticism of the government—including, apparently, the North Korean version of “Thanks, Obama”—“is enough to make you and your family ‘disappear’ from society and end up in a political prison camp.”
South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper has reported that Ri Yong Jin, a senior official in the education ministry, was arrested for dozing off during a meeting with Kim and charged with corruption before being killed.
Former Agriculture Minister Hwang Min was purged over a proposed project seen as a direct challenge to Kim’s leadership, the paper said.
From online discussions to adverts, Chinese culture is full of puns. But the country’s print and broadcast watchdog has ruled that there is nothing funny about them.
It has banned wordplay on the grounds that it breaches the law on standard spoken and written Chinese, makes promoting cultural heritage harder and may mislead the public – especially children.
The casual alteration of idioms risks nothing less than “cultural and linguistic chaos”, it warns.
Chinese is perfectly suited to puns because it has so many homophones. Popular sayings and even customs, as well as jokes, rely on wordplay.
But the order from the State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television says: “Radio and television authorities at all levels must tighten up their regulations and crack down on the irregular and inaccurate use of the Chinese language, especially the misuse of idioms.”
Programmes and adverts should strictly comply with the standard spelling and use of characters, words, phrases and idioms – and avoid changing the characters, phrasing and meanings, the order said.
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 
In November 2014, China banned puns:
From online discussions to adverts, Chinese culture is full of puns. But the country’s print and broadcast watchdog has ruled that there is nothing funny about them.
It has banned wordplay on the grounds that it breaches the law on standard spoken and written Chinese, makes promoting cultural heritage harder and may mislead the public – especially children.
The casual alteration of idioms risks nothing less than “cultural and linguistic chaos”, it warns.
Chinese is perfectly suited to puns because it has so many homophones. Popular sayings and even customs, as well as jokes, rely on wordplay.
But the order from the State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television says: “Radio and television authorities at all levels must tighten up their regulations and crack down on the irregular and inaccurate use of the Chinese language, especially the misuse of idioms.”
Programmes and adverts should strictly comply with the standard spelling and use of characters, words, phrases and idioms – and avoid changing the characters, phrasing and meanings, the order said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/28/china-media-watchdog-bans-wordplay-puns
jiao ma means both flame war and Sichuan pepper
“The casual alteration of idioms risks nothing less than “cultural and linguistic chaos”, it warns.”
Awwwww……
But he looks so FABULOUS!
Man, that coca cola burns when it comes out of your nose.