As of June 20, the following search terms are blocked on Weibo (not including the “search for user” function).

Returning From Exile: Tiananmen protest leader Zhou Fengsuo, who has been living in exile as a US citizen for the past 25 years, returned to Beijing on the anniversary of the June 4th crackdown. He took advantage of a policy passed in January, 2013, allowing visitors 72-hours of visa-free time for transit. After a low-key commemorative drive around Tiananmen Square and a visit to the detention center where journalist Gao Yu and rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang were being held during the government’s Tiananmen anniversary crackdown, Zhou was questioned by police and sent back to the US. While many June 4th-related terms are forever sensitive words, several more joined the list during May and June.

• 周锋锁: Zhou Fengsuo
• 周封锁: An alternative “spelling” of Zhou Fengsuo

Hunting “Tigers”: Amid Xi Jinping’s crackdown on Party corruption, more high ranking officials have found themselves under investigation.

• 令计划＋贪腐: Ling Jihua + Corruption – Shanxi official Ling Zhengce, the brother of United Front Work Department head Ling Jihua (himself at the center of a scandal in 2012), was announced to be under investigation for graft yesterday [Chinese]. This fueled speculation that his brother could also be suspect. Party run Xinhua published a commentary centered on Ling Zhengce warning that family connections to the central government would not save corrupt officials from investigation, and censors quickly ordered the article’s deletion.
• 令谷: Ling Gu – The son of Ling Jihua, who died in a Ferrari crash in 2012. Ling Jihua’s alleged cover-up of the crash became  a major scandal, and may have played a part in preventing his expected rise to the Politburo that year.
•  李小鹏: Li Xiaopeng – The son of former premier Li Peng, Li Xiaopeng is the governor of Shanxi, where a new wave of graft investigations have been launched against Ling Zhengce and other officials.
• 令计（划）＋苏荣: Ling ji(hua) + Su Rong – Also recently announced to be undergoing graft investigation is Su Rong, a vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Su becomes the highest level “tiger” to be netted since Xi’s anti-graft campaign began in 2012.
• 苏荣＋江泽（民) : Su Rong + Jiang Ze(min)
• 苏荣＋（曾）庆红: Su Rong + (Zeng) Qinghong – Zeng Qinghong was China’s vice president from 2003 to 2008. Zeng and his son Zeng Wei have been rumored to be under investigation.
• 曾庆红＋监视居住: Zeng Qinghong + residential surveillance
• （曾）庆红＋豪宅: (Zeng) Qinghong + mansion – Zeng Qinghong’s son Zeng Wei was recently granted permission to demolish and rebuild an expensive mansion in Sydney after locals protested the plan.
• 刘迎霞＋吉林帮: Liu Yingxia + Jilin gang – Rich businesswomen Liu Yingxia was sacked from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference early this year. She had ties To Jilin’s oil industry.
• 贺锦雷: He Jinlei – Son of former Politburo Standing Committee member He Guoqiang. It was announced last month that He Jinlei’s younger brother He Jintao was under house arrest and the subject of a graft investigation.

Also Blocked:

• 赤化: Become Communist

• 李卓人- Lee Cheuk-yan (member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and Chairman of HK Labour Party) – A member of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp, Lee has been vocal in his opposition to the recent “white paper” reasserting Beijing’s authority over semi-autonomous Hong Kong.  

• 伪基站 – Fake base station – Three people stood trial in Beijing [Chinese] yesterday for responsibility in using fake telecommunication base stations for mass spam messaging.
• 群发＋短信＋设备 – crowd sent + text message + equipment. The State Internet and Information Office recently announced a crackdown on smartphone messaging apps which would target apps like WeChat that allow for the mass dissemination of messages.

• 非京籍＋抗议 – Non-Beijing hukou + protest – Last month, parents protested new school entrance regulations for unfairly preventing their children from starting school in the capital city.

• 血债帮 – Blood debt gang, a term used by Falun Gong followers to refer to government officials who have persecuted the group.

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

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.

Have a sensitive word tip? Submit it to CDT through this form: