Chinese comic: It's easier to buy guns than fireworks in US

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Standup comedian routines are usually always topical and often have a political edge. That became very clear on Chinese New Year - the same day as a tragic shooting at a Florida high school which left at least 17 dead. The New Year is traditionally marked by firecrackers and Chinese comedian Joe Wong jokingly asked policemen; "Why is it in America guns are illegal and fireworks are not?"

“Standup comedy is always an experiment even for established comedians, “ Joe Wong said.

The 47-year-old is certainly not your average ‘Joe.’ He is biochemist turned standup comedian who made his comic debut in America. Wong has made appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” But the native of Jilin Province in China’s northeast is best known for making fun of former Vice President Joe Biden during the Radio and Television Correspondent’s Dinner in 2010.

“For some reason that video got really popular in China. I got 10 million hits from only one website, only one website,” he told CGTN Digital. “I came here and people immediately invited me on the talk shows in China but I had never did standup comedy in Chinese.”

He said because of the routine’s popularity he was constantly invited to talk shows in China to perform the English jokes in Chinese.

Joe tells us why he chose comics over science:

“That was tremendous pressure. I know millions of people are watching,” he said. “So it was quite painful for the first half of year to a year.”

Wong said returning home to China after living in the US for 19 years proved challenging in more ways than one for a comic career.

“As soon as I arrived in China I started to go to comedy clubs in Beijing. … It has like 23 million people but there’s only one comedy club and it has one show once a week or once a month,” Wong said. “Now the scene has grown so much bigger. There are like four or five different comedy clubs. ... So that’s pretty impressive.”

Joe talks making his US act Chinese:

“Standup comedians go on stage. They are themselves basically,” Wong told CGTN Digital. “They tell people what they think of the world.”

But he said since returning to his native China in 2013 he has realized that trans-cultural comedy is more than just translating jokes back and forth between English and Mandarin.

“In China, I feel like I am part of a movement. There’s this new thing called standup comedy. Young people are into it,” Wong said. “It takes a little bit longer to warm them up. But once they are warmed up they are a great audience.”

Crosstalk Comedy

He said that while standup comedy is new to China, the country does have "xiangsheng" or "crosstalk", a traditional form of Chinese comedy and one of the most popular cultural art forms.

The standup comedian admits he has yet to master crosstalk to make it part of his routine.

Joe gets serious about Hollywood's drama:

Wong said he is the only comedian actually touring China while hosting his own popular television show on CCTV2 - “Is It True?.” The show aims to prove or disprove myths and rumors found on China’s social media. He said this sort of double duty is not the norm.

“In China, once you have a tv show you do other variety shows. You rarely do theater stuff anymore which is kind of a shame. …in America if you have a tv show you still go to comedy clubs to hone your act.” he said.

Cup of ‘Joe’

That is exactly what Wong is doing. The busy comedian not only is still touring the country but he is also developing a sitcom in China while still exploring possibilities in Hollywood.

Although Wong admits he is very familiar with Hollywood’s lackluster diversity.

“I keep saying this to them but it never got reported. And that is the bamboo ceiling in Hollywood. … a lot of writers and producers said to me ‘oh we can’t do an Asian family show’ I said why? ‘They said because Margaret Cho show failed,’ he told CGTN Digital.

The last episode of "Is It True?" in December 2017. / Instagram/ @JoeWongComedy

Margaret Cho is a Korean American comedian who had a television sitcom that only stayed on television for a few months due to low ratings in 1995. Wong was shocked to see the lingering effects of one show.

“I couldn’t believe this is so blatantly racist and people don’t even realize it,” he joked. “It’s like they would never say to a white guy ‘I’m sorry Matthew Perry’s show just got canceled. We can’t have white guys on tv anymore."

But Wong is not letting that stop him. He said he flies to Hollywood every year with sitcom and talk show ideas hoping to catch a break.

Wong treats the annual trip like he did his comedy class years ago back in Boston.

“I figured even if I failed at this endeavor it is still kind of interesting so I just kept at it.”