"If you kill your girlfriend today, the coming Qixi festival (China's Valentine's Day) will be a good day to hold a memorial service for her."

Can you believe it? This was a "joke" that Zhang Shaowei, a Chinese cross-talk actor, posted on his micro blog on Monday.

The actor has half a million followers and the post went viral within hours, with many criticizing him in the comments section. Two hours later Zhang deleted the post and apologized, saying what he posted was a joke circulating among his friends on WeChat.

One wonders how someone could come up with such a harmful "joke", which far from being funny is actually in very poor taste.

Besides, talking about how to kill a girlfriend amounts to violence against women. It is not surprising that Zhang received flak online for "lack of courtesy toward women".

In an earlier video, Zhang is seen telling his viewers how to assault their girlfriends on the nose and lower jaw so that they cannot fight back any more. That's as good as teaching people to commit a crime. Zhang is responsible for what he posts.

Now that Zhang has apologized, it is hoped he will not repeat his mistake. He should also realize that his jokes are anything but funny. Not only are they offensive to women, they might encourage some to assault their wives or girlfriends.

The incident should also send a warning to all public figures to be cautious with their words. Before posting a joke, they should ensure it does not offend anybody.

— ZHANG ZHOUXIANG, CHINA DAILY