Post date: May 20, 2013 12:30:56 PM
Reuters Business Video Report - The new Voice of America for young Chinese.
Humor may not always translate well, but Jon Stewart is picking up a lot of fans in China.
His gloves-off political satire is refreshing in a country where that's a rarity.
Especially when it's directed against their own leaders.Mao Moyu, a student of journalism in Shanghai, got hooked over four years ago.
JOURNALISM STUDENT, MAO MOYU,
"Being a journalist you have to, you know, find out the truth. If there's someone doing something that hurts the public interests you have to, you know, stand out no matter how sharp the thing is. You gotta stand out and say that's not right."
Stewart's had a following for a while in China, but his segment on North Korea last month went viral, racking up over 4 million views on Weibo.
He's friended the Chinese right back.
Even stodgy state broadcaster CCTV seems to be a fan, using the Daily Show in a report on criticism of U.S. President Barack Obama.
That's an unusual step for an organization that probably wouldn't let a Chinese version of Stewart anywhere near the cameras.
David Moser studies Chinese humor. He says watching the Daily Show has a cool factor.
ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, CET BEIJING CHINESE STUDIES, DAVID MOSER,
"These are people who are very elite. They already know something about American culture but they really want to get more deeply into it. They feel like this is the real thing. They may not get all of the jokes but it may be like, sort of like buying an expensive bottle of French wine. You may not really understand what it is you have in your hands, what you're drinking. You may not be able to appreciate it, but you feel like this is the real thing."
Free translations by Stewart's fans have boosted his popularity.
In fact one translator known as Gu Da Bai Hua now has his own fan base.
Luo Anji, a Web site editor in Beijing, follows both.
She gave us her best Jon Stewart imitation.
JON STEWART FAN, LUO ANJI,
"He goes like this when he's thinking about something, or he moves his eyebrows like this, or hides behind something. It's so cute!"
But Stewart has some competition.
Reuters' student intern Peng Cheng says he prefers Stephen Colbert.
STEPHEN COLBERT FAN, PENG CHENG,
"I like Stephen Colbert's pronunciation more because I think it's much clearer for me."
So the rivalry could heat up between "Jiong Si Tu" and "Kou Kou Xiong" as more young Chinese get in on the joke.