As of August 29, the following search terms were blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the “search for user” function).
Lasers on Li Keqiang
- （李）克强＋激光笔: (Li) Keqiang + laser pointer—While attending the closing ceremony of the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, Premier Li Keqiang repeatedly found his face illuminated by the green beam of a South Korean athlete’s laser pointer. ChinaSMACK translates netizens commenting on the incident, and on censor’s choice to keep it under wraps.
Anti-Corruption Campaign
- 徐才厚＋刘源: Xu Caihou + Liu Yuan—According to Internet rumors, former Central Military Commission vice chairman Xu Caihou had attempted to order the assassination of Liu Shaoqi’s son Liu Yuan prior to his recent expulsion from the CCP for corruption allegations. In 2012, General Liu Yuan levied accusations that eventually led to the downfall of Xu and Gu Junshan (sacked in April); according to a recent report on corruption in China’s military from Reuters, Xi Jinping is set to soon promote Liu to the Central Military Commission.
- 令计划＋运城—Ling Jihua + Yuncheng [Shanxi]—Frequent recent rumors about corruption investigations into the family circle of Ling Jihua, a CPPCC vice-chairman and top adviser to former President Hu Jintao, have led to speculation that Ling himself may be at the center of a graft probe. Most recently, Ling’s brother-in-law Wang Jiankang, deputy mayor of Yuncheng, Shanxi, was reported to be in police custody late last month.
- 李伟东＋习近平: Li Weidong + Xi Jinping—Political commentator and former editor of China Reform Li Weidong has offered regular commentary on Xi Jinping’s presidency. On August 4, Voice of America published analysis from Li [Chinese] suggesting that Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive is aimed at eradicating the influence of all party elders to secure his own ultimate power.
- 胡苏平: Hu Suping—Shanxi Provincial Party Standing Committee member and head of the Shanxi Propaganda Department. Several Shanxi officials, including some related to Ling Jihua, have recently been accused of corruption, though Hu’s name has not been mentioned in relation to any graft allegations.
- 邓家族: Deng family
- 温（家宝）＋贪污: Wen (Jiabao) + corruption
Also Blocked
- 黑衣＋律师: black clothes + lawyers—In late June, over 1,500 lawyers clad in black clothing joined a silent march in protest of a Beijing white paper asserting that a “basic political requirement” for the region’s elected judiciary should be a “love for China.” Conflicting visions of Hong Kong democracy between pro-Beijing and pan-democratic camps have heightened political tensions in the semi-autonomous region. The central government is currently holding meetings in Beijing on the 2017 election, and pro-democracy activists are planning a rally to follow the announcement of their proposal this weekend.
- 阳光卫视＋陈平: Sun Satellite Television + Chen Ping—Hong Kong media magnate Chen Ping, owner of the liberal iSun Affairs and Sun TV outlets, was assaulted on the streets of Hong Kong last year. Amid political tensions between Beijing and Hong Kong, the region’s relative media freedoms have been noted to be languishing.
- 非法传唤: illegal subpoena
- 财产公开＋人大代表: asset disclosure + NPC delegates—several activists, including rights lawyer and New Citizens’ Movement founder Xu Zhiyong,have been sentenced to prison after calling for officials to disclose their assets last year.
- 网络监控: Internet surveillance
- 网宣办: Internet Propaganda Office
- 新疆＋管制: Xinjiang + control—as China’s war on terror continues to escalate, eight were executed in Xinjiang this week for their alleged involvement in the October 2013 jeep crash near Tiananmen Square.
- 毛匪: Mao bandit
- 退d: alternate “spelling” of 退党 (tuìdǎng), to withdraw from the Party.
- 力远超: Li Yuanchao—Vice President of the PRC. The reason for this term’s blocking is currently unclear, and CDT invites readers to offer clues.
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.
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