The Onion: China’s Andy Rooney

The Onion has put out a new spoof: "China's Andy Rooney Has Some Funny Opinions About How Great The Chinese Government Is."

For English and Chinese readers who are unfamiliar, Andy Rooney is the old curmudgeon who ends every episode of CBS's "60 Minutes" with a rant about how difficult or unnecessary he finds some aspect of modern life -- a jar he can't open or a computer he can't figure out. He is rarely ever political, having gone to great lengths to avoid giving an opinion about the two presidential candidates this past Fall. But on all other matters he is an incessant sourpuss.

The Onion's version, a so-called Chinese Andy Rooney, riffs on an obvious sore spot in Chinese media: censorship and self-censorship. But the humor still works well if the viewer keeps in mind the original Andy Rooney's format -- itself already a leaden approach to commentary -- as a foil for this character's style.