A natural disaster and a comedy mishap testify to the party’s power
FOR SOMETHING deemed so subversive, the act was understated, even underwhelming. During a live performance in mid-July, Guo Degang, a comedian, tweaked a popular Chinese revolutionary song.
Link to originaltweak:
~ sthto make slight changes to a machine, system, etc. to improve it
I think you’ll have to tweak these figures a little before you show them to the boss.
Instead of “all is quiet on Weishan Lake”, where Communist guerrillas hid while fighting the Japanese, he sang “all is quiet in the Forbidden City”, the old imperial centre of Beijing, and next to the home to China’s leaders. His precise meaning was ambiguous, not pointed. He drew little more than a light chuckle from the audience. But he elicited more from state authorities: a crackdown that epitomises China’s narrowed space for speech.
Mr Guo’s apparent sin was that he violated entertainment laws by not seeking approval for his modified lyrics. His shows stretching to late September have been cancelled. News of his travails sparked flickers of astonishment at such heavy-handedness. But much criticism itself had an ephemeral life online. “If a culture doesn’t leave room for a little harmless banter, aren’t we being wound too tightly?” wrote one observer—only for his post to be deleted from WeChat, a social-media platform.
wound tight
To be exceptionally or excessively tense, anxious, or agitated. Often modified with mitigators or intensifiers.
The new manager seems wound a little tight. I have a feeling he’s going to be on our case over every little thing.
A: “Sheesh, you need to relax! You’re wound way too tight.” B: “Sorry, I’ve just been under a lot of pressure at work lately.”
only to (do something)
An expression used to highlight an upsetting, disappointing, or otherwise unpleasant action that occurred immediately after something else.
I worked on that proposal for over a month, only to find that they had awarded the contract to the firm across town.
It can be disheartening to spend a lot of time preparing a meal only to have your kids turn their nose up at it.