At the height of Mao's reign of terror in China, paranoia reached a fever pitch. Few dared to mock the party openly, but some expressed their anger by proclaiming the glory of the Party at inappropriate moments or with unnecessary theatricality – using sarcasm and irony as subtle weapons.

In response, the authorities introduced a law which banned the "Speaking of Weird Words" – a transliteration from the Chinese. This law instituted the death penalty for citizens who used sarcasm in their spoken or written communications, elevating irony and humour to a capital crime.