Daily Show's newest correspondent tells Chinese jokes

Standup comedian Ronny Chieng joins the "Daily Show" regulars.

COMEDY CENTRAL'S The Daily Show searched far and wide for its "correspondents" for the program's  reboot with Trevor Noah, taking over the hosting duties from comedian John Stewart.

Among the new "correspondents" will be Chinese/American Ronny Chieng via way of  Melbourne, Australia. He was in the middle of a world tour when he was notified that he was accepted by The Daily Show. "I'm excited to bring my attention to detail & knowledge of current affairs to working with Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow," he tweeted.

Chieng has been touring Australia with sold-out shows all summer. He's also performed at major comedy festivals in Montreal, Edinburgh and Auckland.

“I actually found out last week that I got it and I’ve had to keep radio silence for a week,” the Chinese Malaysian-born comic told Guardian Australia on the phone from London, where he is performing at Soho theatre after another successful Edinburgh fringe run.

In the style of a more likable Don Rickles, Chieng is not afraid to draw in his audience by insulting them.

In a set at the Melbourne Comedy Festival gala, Chieng addresses the latent racism in Australian culture, talking about the most common question he gets asked: “Are your parents ok with you doing stand up?”

“The insinuation behind that is downright racist,” he says.

“You only ask me that because I’m Asian. You would never ask these other white comedians that question, because you know their parents don’t give a fuck about them.”

Point made!

As you can see from the video, he's also not afraid to turn the spotlight on his own people: “Chinese people, we invented chopsticks because forks are too easy. I don’t know about you but I enjoy a challenge when I’m doing a daily activity that’s required for my survival. What is that, a spoon? Get that shit away from me you pussy. I enjoy drinking soup with two sticks.”

Cheng was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire and Singapore. He has been a rising star on the comedy scene in Australia where he moved to attend the University of Melbourne. 

Embarking on a stand-up comedy career after graduating with a degree in commerce and a degree in law, Chieng’s career began to take off in 2012 when he was named one of the “Top 10 Rising Comedians in Australia” by The Age, the Herald Sun and The Sydney Morning Herald and received the “Best Newcomer” award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his debut stand-up special, “The Ron Way.” Earlier this year Chieng made his U.S. television debut on The Late Late Show.

As the Daily Show's newest correspondent, he will be joining Desi Lydic and Roy Wood Jr. as the new talent as well as the show's regulars: Jordan Klepper, Hasan Minhaj, Jessica Williams, Lewis Black, John Hodgman, Al Madrigal, Aasif Mandvi and Kristen Schaal.

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