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Post tags: Drawing the News, Liu Ping, Liu Tienan, Luo Changping, political cartoons, political humor, Xi Jinping, Yuan Liya, Zhu Ling
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Left: “My dad is a director!” Right: “My dad is a section chief!”

拼爹 (pīn diē): compare fathers

This term is a product of the growing disparity between the rich and poor in a society with limited social mobility. Instead of competing based on ability or academic accomplishments, many feel that “comparing fathers” gives a more accurate prediction of future success.

Many Chinese young people with powerful fathers are known as rich second generation. In the past few years, there have been many incidents of rich second generation youths relying on their fathers’ wealth or power to avoid taking responsibility for their wrongdoing.

Most famously, in 2010, Li Qiming drove drunk and ran over a college student, killing her. When he exited the car, he famously declared, “My father is Li Gang,” and asked who dared sue him. His declaration later became one of the year’s most viral Internet memes. More recently, Li Tianyi, the son of a general in the People’s Liberation Army, was arrested for the gang rape of his teacher; it was widely believed that the younger Li felt he could get away with such acts because of his father’s status and wealth.

Many Chinese who “compare fathers” do not do so in such a criminal way; they merely enjoy some preferential treatment and have more opportunities than those without connections. However, when young people like Li Qiming and Li Tianyi “compare fathers,” they are often described as being 坑爹 kēng diē, or “father-hurting,” a term originally used to refer more broadly to unsatisfactory circumstances.

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The AmazeNews story below was first posted on May 8 as part of the ongoing series Scenes from the Golden Age (盛世一景). CDT Chinese carries all AmazeNews posts (here).

On April 28, under the guise of a conference, the township government of Beiye, Pingshan County, Hebei Province arrested the chief and secretary of Mimishui Village. On April 29, a group of women from the village kneeled on the ground to beg Zhang Dongli for the release of the arrested village officials.

In the images, a group of female villagers are shown kneeling in front of Zhang. Some of them tug at his legs while they beg for the release of the detained officials. But Zhang Dongli is unfazed. His face remains expressionless as he stands with his hands behind his back and his nose in the air.

[via CDT Chinese]

According to Radio Free Asia [zh], the local government sold the villagers’ land over ten years ago to someone surnamed Su to build a sightseeing attraction. Since then, many villagers’ homes have been forcibly demolished.

Images of stoney-faced Zhang began to circulate on Weibo around May 6. Netizens have dubbed him “Brother Emperor” (皇帝哥). While a Weibo search for “Brother Emperor” only returns 750 results as of 4:15 p.m. EST, weibo from @拍客视线 and @获鹿县令 have together been reposted over 6500 times.

Translation by Wen Xin Liu.

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Post tags: AmazeNews, forced demolitions, hebei, land rights, weibo
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跨省追捕 (kuā shěng zhuībǔ): pursue across provincial lines

“You’re not allowed to post things on the Internet that tarnish my reputation!” (isso.com.cn)

The practice by local government agents of traveling to other provinces to arrest netizens for posting comments on the Internet.

In April 2009, netizen Wang Shuai was arrested in Shanghai for posting pictures that mocked the illegal seizure of land by officials in Lingbao, Henan Province. Wang’s post implied that local official took measures to ruin the land so that they could buy it at a lower price, since the required compensation is higher for cultivated land than for abandoned land.

Wang’s arrest led to a public outcry. The Henan provincial police chief eventually apologized to Wang, who was later compensated for his ordeal.

After this case and other incidents of cross-provincial arrests, the phrase “pursue across provincial lines” became a popular Internet meme. Many sensitive posts end half-jokingly, “Please don’t pursue me across provincial lines,” or, “I don’t really understand what I just wrote; I just copied it from someone else, so don’t pursue me across provincial lines.”

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Post tags: word of the week
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Now Yu is using Weibo to expose the censorship of his latest book. The publisher’s notice:

China Radio & Television Publishing House

Letter Concerning the Halted Publication of Yu Jianrong’s Book Father’s Wandering: Panorama on a Public Intellectual

Wuta International Cultural Development (Beijing) Ltd.:

Upon receipt of notice from the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, Yu Jianrong’s Father’s Wandering: Panorama on a Public Intellectual may not be published for the time being. The book’s ISBN (978-7-5043-6884-3) and CIP (2013 No. 075663) have been invalidated. We now inform you that upon invalidation of this book’s bar code and CIP, the publication contract is revoked, and all publishing activities are halted.

Please respond.

Office of the Editor-in-Chief, China Radio & Television Publishing House

April 24, 2013

Yu did indeed respond, publicly:

@于建嵘: Who knows the name and contact information for the bureau chief of the General Administration on Press and Publication (GAPP)? I want to treat him (or her) to a cup of coffee and a constitutional study session, where we can also discuss Secretary Xi’s Chinese Dream.

谁知道出版总署图书司司长叫什么，联系方式。我打算约他（她）边喝咖啡边学习宪法，还要讨论习总书记的中国梦。

Some followers attest that Yu’s “sensitivity“–his focus on social justice–undermined his book’s debut:

@余胜海 [Please Don’t Smother Our “Chinese Dream”] When I learned about the ban on Professor Yu Jianrong’s new book Father’s Wandering, I was startled. According to the China Radio & Television Publishing House’s @贺雄飞’s description, the reason is “because Yu Jianrong is a sensitive person.” I can’t help but ask, what is a “sensitive person?” What legal provisions prevent a “sensitive person” from publishing? Micro-comment: The government is not smothering just one book, but smothering our “Chinese Dream.”

【请不要封杀我们的“中国梦”】得知@于建嵘 教授的新书《父亲的江湖》被禁感到吃惊，据中国广电出版社@贺雄飞 介绍，该书被出版总局封杀的理由“是因为于建嵘是敏感人物”。我不禁要问：什么是“敏感人物”？哪部法律规定“敏感人物”不能出书？微评：政府封杀的不是一本书，而是我们的“中国梦”。

Yu asked netizens to explain:

@于建嵘: Who can tell me: what kind of person is a sensitive person?

谁能告诉我：敏感人物是什么人物？

And explain they did:

@孤狼莫三: People who don’t kiss ass and who pick the scabs off diseased scalps. Those are all sensitive people.

凡不舔人家眼子、不捧人家臭脚，并且还揭人家秃疮嘎巴儿的，皆为敏感人物。

@曾勋微博: Community leaders and I regard Teacher Yu and his writings with the utmost respect. It is truly baffling, how a public intellectual who draws strength and wisdom from the lowest rung of society can become a sensitive person. A phone call can bring down the world, and they don’t need any sort of justification. The right of citizens to publish is written in the constitution, but how far is the constitution from us? Remember this aborted book. We’ve still many roads to walk down.

社领导与我都对@于建嵘 老师以及他的著作予以最真诚的尊重。百思不得其解，一个在底层汲取力量与智慧的公共知识分子为何会成为敏感人物。一个电话，坍塌了一个世界，他们不需要任何理由。公民的出版权利写在宪法上，宪法离我们多远？纪念这本流产的书，我们还有很多路要走。

@卫志民1988: Actually, Yu Jianrong has basically no influence, and won’t be able to sell many books anyway. This notice is unnecessary, and in fact is a hard sell at Yu’s convenience. I suggest the notice be repealed, lest the masses think it’s just part of the publisher’s marketing campaign. Don’t let public intellectuals benefit at others’ expense, am I right?

其实，于建嵘根本没有多大影响力，出本书也卖不了多少册，此举没有必要，反而为其做了硬广告，让于建嵘占了便宜。建议撤销此通知，否则群众以为是出版公司营销运作的结果呢。不能让公知占便宜，是吧？

柴_学斌: Quick, look at Yu Jianrong’s Weibo. Teacher Yu is good; if you’re fortunate, you will see. I want to buy your book. If possible, please reply. I am curious what content kept your book from being published. Perhaps you truly are a “sensitive person.”

快来看看@于建嵘 的微博于老师好，如果有幸您能看到，我想买您的书，如果可以请回复，我想学习及很好奇什么内容让您的书不能问世，或许您真是“敏感人物”

海南梁山: [“Chinese Dream”] Publication of Professor Yu’s new book Father’s Wanderers was halted. It has been reported that GAPP’s reason for blocking publication is “because Yu Jianrong is a sensitive person.” Micro-comment: To borrow Professor Kong’s words: “Go run to your mom–damn your mom–fuck your mom!” Do the three characters in Yu Jianrong’s name have the sensitivity of a corrupt official? Do they have the sensitivity of the three public expenditures? Of stability maintenance? Why don’t we kill the corrupt officials, forbid the three expenditures, and stop stability maintenance!

【＂中国梦”】@于建嵘 教授的新书《父亲的江湖》，在要付印时被叫停。据说该书被出版总局封杀的理由“是因为于建嵘老师是敏感人物”。微评：借用孔教授的话，去你妈的，滚你妈的，操你妈的！于建嵘3字有贪官敏感？有三公敏感？有维稳敏感？咋不贪官杀了，三公禁了，维稳停了！

作者张宇龙: Recently I heard that Teacher Yu’s book was censored. Jeez! If there’s a problem, man up and face it. If you don’t admit to flaws, how can you correct them? Believe me, the more the country and the government behave like this, the louder people’s complaints will get. You fail and then don’t let anyone talk about it. What gives!

最近听说@于建嵘 老师的书被封，真是气愤，有问题要敢于面对，如果不承认有瑕疵之处，何来改正优化？相信我，国家与政府越这样，百姓的怨言就更大。因为你做不到，还不让人说，这是干嘛！！

温州黄朝钦: People already refuse to donate to the Red Cross. Yu Jianrong’s book won’t be published. A court director dies in shuanggui.

红十字会已经没人捐款了，@于建嵘 的书不能出版了，被双规的法院院长死亡了。

李百味五世: Authorities are brimming with “confidence in the path,” “confidence in the theory,” and “confidence in the system,” but they’re scared to publish a few books, scared to print a few thousand booklets. What “confidence” indeed.

当局充满了“道路自信”“理论自信”“制度自信”，但是啊，就是怕出那么几本书，就是怕印那么几千本小册子。好一个“自信”。

@贺雄飞: Before, it was Teacher Yu helping petitioners formulate their statements. Today, Teacher Yu strives for press freedom for himself and the Chinese people. This matter is destined to go down in history alongside the “Southern Weekly Incident.” Teacher Yu, it’s up to you. You have my full support.

以前是于老师帮助那些访民讨说法，现在是于老师为自己也为中国人争出版自由。这件事注定要和“南周事件”一样载入历史。于老师，看您的了，我全力配合。

Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Josh Rudolph.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Chinese Dream, GAPP, Netizen Voices, publishing, Yu Jianrong
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Fake Time cover featuring a disgraced Guo.

郭美美baby (Guō Měiměi): Guo Meimei

Guo Meimei, or @郭美美baby on Weibo, is a wealthy Chinese woman who almost single-handedly destroyed the credibility of the Red Cross Society of China. Guo flaunts her extravagant lifestyle online, posting photos of herself reclining on her Maserati or clutching her lime green Hermes bag. In June 2011, then 20-year-old Guo claimed that she was the “General Manager of Red Cross Commerce.” Guo’s self-identified connection to the Red Cross outraged netizens, who already suspected that Red Cross donations were being misused.

Guo’s affiliation with the Red Cross was eventually discredited, but her legacy continues to plague the charity. After a 6.6-magnitude earthquake shook Sichuan Province in April 2013, Guo resurfaced in online discussions, while a sex tape allegedly featuring the young woman trended on Sina Weibo. Suffering from a lack of donations, it was reported at the end of the month that the Red Cross would reopen the investigation into Guo—a promise the organization quickly denied.

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The Red Cross inspired one netizen to write a poem:

Whether or not you donate, that’s up to you, but what are the bastards at Red Cross up to?
An individual’s donation is voluntary. Don’t let selfish thoughts in your hearts become Justification for you to say, swelling with pride, “A few yuan is enough to feed our disaster-Stricken brothers and sisters a few meals, but not enough to make a real difference.” I don’t Care what you all think, I will donate to the Red Cross, but is it enough to relieve the disaster? Of course one person’s contribution isn’t, but for the sake of our beautiful motherland, And our wonderful mothers, be a good Chinese person. Brothers and sisters, if you often buy A pack of cigarettes or a midday snack, you’re already spending a few yuan. The whole world And all of the ancients know that, since the quake, countless of our countrymen don’t even have Pants to wear, including many young ladies. Do your hearts not ache?

This elegy to the Red Cross has a hidden message: the first character of every line, when read together, warns, “The money you donate isn’t enough for Meimei to buy underpants.”

Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Josh Rudolph.

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Post tags: 2013 Sichuan earthquake, guo meimei, Netizen Voices, Red Cross
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“Grandpa Wen” famously spoke to Sichuan earthquake victims on the ground. Some saw his hands-on approach as a brilliant publicity stunt. (artist unknown)

我来晚了。 (Wǒ lái wǎn le.): I’m late.

A catchphrase of former Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. He first apologized for the time of his arrival to Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province after a gas explosion in a coal mine there on November 28, 2004 killed 166 people. From then on, netizens noted Wen’s every apology for being late at the scenes of natural and man-made disasters: a southern snow storm in January 2008, the devastating Sichuan earthquake of May 8, 2008, and the site of the Wenzhou train crash stand out in the public memory. Instead of praise for “Grandpa Wen,” netizens often think Wen is feeding the people and the media a clever line. They believe he lacks real concern for the plight of the Chinese people.

See also movie star.

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Post tags: 2008 Sichuan earthquake, high-speed rail crash, natural disasters, Wen Jiabao, word of the week
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Prime Minister Li Keqiang at the site of the Sichuan earthquake. (CCTV)

Sichuan Earthquake: At least 188 are dead and over 11,000 injured after Saturday morning’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which struck Lushan County in the mountainous southwestern province of Sichuan.

• Fan Jiyue (范继跃): Lushan County Party Secretary Fan Jiyue was seen inspecting the disaster zone with Prime Minister Li Keqiang [zh]. Savvy netizens, quick to catch signs of luxurious lifestyles in these photo opportunities, noticed Fan’s distinct watch tan, then dug up older photos of him wearing a watch on the same arm. Fan is likely hoping to avoid the ridicule which drove Watch Brother out of office last fall. Netizens are calling Fan the “clever county Party secretary” (机智的县委书记) and “Taking-off Watch Brother” (脱表哥).
• Lushan County Party Secretary (芦山县委书记)
• Li Keqiang+put on a show (李克强+作秀): Li Keqiang was photographed yesterday eating a simple breakfast in a tent near the epicenter of the earthquake [zh]. Bedraggled from a busy night, he repeatedly emphasized to reporters that saving lives is his “number-one” priority right now.” Former prime minister Wen Jiabao was notorious for acting like this to demonstrate his concern for victims of natural and man-made disasters earning him the nickname “movie star.”
• prime minister+movie star (总理+影帝)
• Three Gorges+Sichuan earthquake (三峡+四川地震): Many people believe the Three Gorges Dam is to blame for the severe earthquakes which struck Sichuan this weekend and in 2008. Geologist Yang Yang, quoted in the Financial Times, says that this is a possibility, but that it is too soon to tell.

Alternate Renderings of Xi Jinping (习近平 Xí Jìnpíng): All based on sound.
• West Gold-peace (西金平 Xī Jīnpíng)
• Western Jin Peace (西晋平 Xī Jìn Píng): The Western Jin Dynasty ruled from 265-420 CE.
• Fully-washed Peace (洗尽平 Xǐ Jìn Píng)
• Whistle-clean Peace (洗净平 Xǐjìng Píng)
• Wash into Bottle (洗进瓶 Xǐ Jìn Píng)
• Sikkim Bottle (锡金瓶 Xījīn Píng)

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2013 Sichuan earthquake, censorship, earthquakes, Fan Jiyue, Internet censorship, Li Keqiang, Ministry of Truth, natural disasters, Sensitive Words Series, Sichuan, Three Gorges Dam, weibo, Wen Jiabao
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帝都 (dì dū): imperial capital

Nickname for Beijing. Formerly, “imperial capital” was used in reference to the capitals of imperialist countries (zh), but as countries have ceased to proclaim themselves empires, the phrase “imperial capital” has become synonymous with a nation’s capital. Beijing’s nickname of “imperial capital” is often contrasted with an Internet nickname for Shanghai, 魔都 (mó dū), which means “devil/monster capital.”

The use of “imperial capital” to mean Beijing has increased as Internet users have come to rely more and more on code words, homonyms, and creatively indirect references to avoid and circumvent censorship. Words like grass-mud horse, river crab, and national treasure all originated in this way.

While such semantic wordplay originally served a purely pragmatic purpose, it has become an ingrained part of some forms of the written Chinese language, with even very common words sometimes replaced by close homonyms; for example, “what” 什么 (shénme) is sometimes replaced by “mystical horse” 神马 (shén mǎ). Instances of such wordplay seem innocuous, but are part of a larger practice that is semantically subversive.

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Post tags: Beijing, word of the week
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Hu Yaobang remembered. (Jiao Yantian via China Media Project)

As of April 16, the following search terms are blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the “search for user” function).

24th Anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s Death: Former Chinese Communist Party chief died suddenly on April 15, 1989, two years after he was removed from office and purged for supporting student protesters. Public mourning for Hu in 1989 morphed into pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and in other cities. Hu was rehabilitated in 2005, but the remembrances which appeared in mainland media yesterday are unusual. South China Morning Post reports that this signals to some Xi Jinping’s seriousness about reform, though it could have as much to do with Hu’s alliance with Xi Zhongxun, Xi’s father.
• Yaobang (耀邦)
• Secretary-General Hu (胡总书记)
• 24th anniversary (24周年)
• Hu Zhao (胡赵): Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. Zhao succeeded Hu as Party chief, but was also purged for his support of the Tiananmen protests. Zhao spent the last 15 years of his life under house arrest.
• reformist (改革派)

Other:
• Saintly Slaves (圣奴隶): The title of an April 10 blog post [zh] by the popular blogger Li Chengpeng in which he lambasts “fifty cents” for sycophantically defending China whenever Li makes a criticism of domestic issues such as food safety or violent chengguan. A translated excerpt:

…Our conversation goes like this: I say gas is too expensive, you say it’s it’s worse in Sweden. I say they don’t collect highway tolls in Sweden, you say they do in Japan. I say wages are high in Japan, you say they aren’t in Russia. I say Russia has universal health care, you say India doesn’t. I say India doesn’t have forced demolitions, you say bombs go off in Iraq. I say Iraq has freedom, you say North Korea is far more miserable. I say North Korea has cheap rental housing, you say they still live in caves in Afghanistan. I say Afghans have the vote. You say, “Open your trap again, and I’ll crush you to death!”

…你该是看过这个神帖：我说油费太高，你说瑞典更高。我说瑞典公路不收费，你说日本收费。我说日本工资高，你说俄国也不高。我说俄国全民医保，你说印度没医保。我说印度没强拆，你说伊拉克还挨炸。我说伊拉克有自由，你说朝鲜更惨。我说朝鲜有廉租房，你说阿富汗还住山洞。我说阿富汗人有选票，你说你再说我碾死你！

• New York Times+baby (纽约时报+宝宝): David Barboza of the New York Times has won a Pulitzer Prize for his exposé on former premier Wen Jiabao’s family wealth. “Baby” (宝宝 bǎobao) is a sarcastic nickname for Wen which plays on his first name (家宝 Jiābǎo).

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, hu yaobang, Internet censorship, Li Chengpeng, Ministry of Truth, Sensitive Words Series, weibo, Zhao Ziyang
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• Masanjia Women’s Labor Re-education Camp (马三家女子劳教所): An investigative report on the camp, which exposes torture of inmates, appears in the April issue of the mainland magazine Lens. According to a leaked propaganda directive translated by CDT, the media are under instruction not to report on the article.

• SARS ten years ago+bird flu ten years later (十年前非典+十年后禽流感): The beginning of a short piece circulating online comparing the official response to SARS in 2003 and the H7N9 bird flu now, translated below:

SARS ten years ago, bird flu ten years later. The Pearl River Delta ten years ago, the Yangtze River Delta ten years later. Delayed action ten years ago, delayed action ten years later. False reports ten years ago, false reports ten years later. Banlangen ten years ago, banlangen ten years later. Experts blathering ten years ago, experts blathering yet again ten years later. We saw all of this ten years ago. Nothing has changed, nothing at all has changed. We have come full circle and ended were we began. We donkeys are so stupid it’s tragic. Only the virus has made a change.

十年前非典，十年后禽流感。十年前珠三角，十年后长三角。十年前拖延，十年后仍然拖延。十年前瞒报，十年后继续瞒报。十年前板蓝根，十年后还是板蓝根。十年前专家胡扯，十年后专家又在胡扯。十年一切照旧，没有改变，没有任何改变。转了一圈，回到原点，我们象驴，笨到哀伤，只有病毒在用心改变。

Alternate Renderings of “Chairman” (主席 zhǔxí):

• bamboo mat (竹席 zhúxí)
• pig Xi (猪习 zhū Xí): The second character is Xi Jinping’s surname.
• pig mat (猪席 zhū xí)
• lord Xi (主习 zhǔ Xí)
• zhu mat (zhu席 zhu xí)

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bird flu, censorship, H7N9, Internet censorship, Masanjia, Ministry of Truth, SARS, Sensitive Words Series, weibo, Xi Jinping
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“Write ‘Thanks to the leaders’ 10,000 times… no, ’Thanks to the country!!’”

感谢国家 (gǎnxiè guójiā): thanks to the country

After Chinese speed skater Zhou Yang won the 1,500 meter event in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, she thanked her parents in a press conference. Yu Zaiqing, Deputy Director of the National Sports Bureau, criticized her for not first thanking her country. Heeding his advice, Zhou held a second news conference during which she first thanked her country, then her parents and coaches.

In Chinese Internet usage, “thanks to the country” is an ironic or sarcastic phrase implying that the thanks was either forced or not merited. It can be used after mentioning an action taken by the state with only minor benefits and substantial costs: “The world should really thank the country for spending US$60 billion on such a great World Expo,” or “Kim Jong-il should really thank the country for showing him such a good time while he’s in China.” It can also be used when the government takes small measures to address a problem that it caused in the first place: “I have to thank my country for ending the Cultural Revolution.”

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, word of the week, Yu Zaiqing, Zhou Yang
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“Emotionally Stable” (Rebel Pepper)

情绪稳定 (qíngxù wěndìng): emotionally stable

Stock phrase used by state media to describe people affected by a disaster. This phrase has drawn scorn from netizens for its premature application to catastrophic events, and for suggesting that were it not for the government’s intervention, the victims would be hysterical. Official accounts of mining accidents, often written just days after the accident, will read something like, “The relevant leaders rushed to the scene to comfort the families. The families are now all emotionally stable (死者家属情绪稳定).” An account of an explosion might read, “The bodies have been taken care of and the families are all emotionally stable.” In the comment pages of these stories, netizens will often remark that “the deceased is now very emotionally stable” (死者情绪稳定).

The phrase is also applied to social unrest. For example, Foxconn factory workers in Fengcheng, Jiangxi Province protested low wages and unfair treatment in January 2013. A number of protesters were arrested. The Jiangxi Daily soon reported that the dispute had been settled, “the workers are emotionally stable, and the factory grounds have returned to order” (员工情绪稳定，厂区恢复秩序).

“Emotional stability” resonates with the government’s emphasis on [maintain stability|social stability]. When an official report suggests that people affected by the calamity are “emotionally stable,” the government saying that social stability has prevailed, when in fact it may be quite tenuous. Resentful netizens speak of being emotionally stabilized (被情绪稳定 bèi qíngxù wěndìng).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: propaganda, word of the week
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Frequently updated with high-resolution photos of the president and other officials, Chinese netizens suspect Xi Jinping’s Facebook page is a government project.

• Xi+facebook (习+facebook): Xi Jinping’s Facebook page looks suspiciously professional to discerning Chinese netizens. Could it be an official account? Over 16,000 users “like” his page, while the new president “likes” Li Keqiang, the People’s Liberation Army, and “Chinese Military Power.”
• Xi+facebook (习+脸谱)
• Chairman xi (xi主席)

• one party holds power (一党执政)
• Domestic Security Department (国保)
• martial law (戒严)

• Toady (蛤蛤): A pejorative nickname for Jiang Zemin.
• Toad thread (蛤丝)
• Chairman Toad (蛤主席)

• general election (普选): Retested.

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Facebook, Internet censorship, Jiang Zemin, Ministry of Truth, Sensitive Words Series, weibo, Xi Jinping
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