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comparatively recently it was unbecoming to make fun of the British Royal Family in public in Britain.
Vittachi, in his letter to the author, says that although stories which pour scorn on leaders are loved by Westerners, Asian audiences sometimes appear a little scared when he does this. As Lee Kuan Yew recounted, by and large an Asian leader is not expected to accept gibes to his face. In Lee's own words, regarding how his political party acted (and largely acts) when governing Singapore: We argued and thrashed out our differences in private. In public we never contradicted each other (Minchin, 1986:343). It can be added that an Asian leader is likely, nevertheless, to receive a few well-aimed jabs behind his back, although, really to enjoy a joke, many will argue there has to be a 'victim.'
Although the pointed joke and the sardonic barb can bring a great deal of trouble (Matthews, 1983:368), Western comedians are fond of using sarcasm with contemptuous language that is intended, in the extreme, to mock, insult or convey scorn. But in Hong Kong (and even more so on the People's Republic Mainland), it is so easy to cross the line and show disrespect (so that the person loses face). The Hong Kong film star and comedian Michael Hui Kwoon-man, a Hong Kong Chinese University graduate, explained to the author that he heard a western comedian in the United States say during a performance: 'What me? I'm so fat and healthy how could I possibly have AIDS?' 'Only people like Michael Jackson, who is skinny and ugly, have AIDS.' The Michael Jackson club in America, consisting mainly of young people, really enjoyed the joke about their idol and roared with glee.
Later, Michael Hui returned to Hong Kong and tried the same joke out at the Anita Mui Fan Club. It fell completely flat. Members sat there looking glum, according to Hui. To be fair however, not all Westerners, especially the more sedate and elderly, would consider this joke funny. Also, of course, the fact that Michael Hui was joking about Anita Mui, a woman, made a difference.
Conclusions
After researching and preparing this paper it is still not possible to decide positively whether there really are cognitive differences between