The following cartoon is being distributed on Chinese social media networks. It depicts Fang Binxing, President of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications who is also known as the Father of the Great Firewall, sitting on the toilet. The caption reads: “President Fang Encounters the Mysterious 404 Problem.” In Internet HTTP protocol, a “404 error” indicates that the requested resource may be available again in the future, and is the error message Chinese netizens get when they try to access a website that has been blocked by the Great Firewall.
Update: Another related joke is also circulating among Chinese microbloggers. It goes like this:
Q: What if President Fang microblogged a “help” message on his cellphone from the toilet for his “404 problem”?
A: The Men’s Room would be locked tight within 20 minutes.
Read more about the Great Firewall and Fang Binxing via CDT.
