A Chinese blogger posted the following cartoon online, apparently mocking the National People’s Congress. “Celestial Empire” is a term frequently used satirically by netizens to refer to the current regime.
Banner：The Nth Period of the Celestial Empire: The Nth Plenary Session of the Orz People’s Congress
囧
Rostrum
Representative Seat
（List of names by character stroke order: ）
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz Orz
“Orz” is a frequently used posture emoticon online in East Asia. From Wikipedia:
Orz (also seen as _|￣|o, OTL, Or2, Orz, OTZ, O7Z, Sto, Jto, _no, 囧rz) is a Japanese emoticon representing a kneeling or bowing person, with the “o” being the head, the “r” being the arms and part of the body, and the “z” being part of the body and the legs. This stick figure represents failure and despair. It is also commonly (mis-)used for representing a great admiration for (sometimes with an overtone of sarcasm) someone else’s view or action. It was first seen in late 2002. It was first used at the forum on Techside, Japanese personal website. At the “Techside FAQ Forum” (TECHSIDE教えて君BBS(教えてBBS) ), a poster asked about a cable cover, typing “＿|￣|○” to show a cable and its cover. Others commented that it looked like a kneeling person, and the symbol became popular. These comments were soon deleted as they were considered off-topic. However, one of the first corresponding reactions can be found on the thread on “Techside Chitchat Forum” (Techside一言板。) at the Internet Archive, on December 23, 2002, and spawned a subculture in late 2004.
囧, or “jiong” is another popular piece of Internet slang. Its original meaning is “bright,” though it is hardly used in that context online. From chinaSMACK’s glossary:
A popular Chinese character/pictogram often used on the Chinese-language internet to express being shocked, amused, or stupefied. Possibly originated from Taiwan, and similar to “Orz” which looks like a person kneeling/bowing.
