Word of the Week comes from the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness.
(Xinhua)
多名女性 (duō míng nǚxìng): several women
Internet meme emerging from accusations against former Chongqing Party secretary Bo Xilai and former security czar Zhou Yongkang.
In September 2012, the Chinese Communist Party expelled Bo, citing a number of misdeeds, including engaging in improper sexual relations with “several women.” The last accusation may be unseemly, but is not in violation of any law.
After this announcement, “several women” was often used in online parodies of famous quotations and poems. It has also been cited as one of the markers of a fallen official:
木木suger: How to identify a corrupt official: (1) land transactions; (2) multiple properties; (3) family has emigrated; (4) several women; (5) offshore accounts; (6) belts and watches; (7) shocking incidents; (8) has offended the media; (9) shocking statements; (10) video clips and photographs; (11) netizen targets; (12) friend of businessmen to the bitter end; (13) bossy relatives. One of the above is enough to bring down an official, and the officials who have already fallen exemplify almost all of these at once. It’s clear that the road to eliminating corruption is a long one! (December 28, 2012)
贪官们的嘴脸：1、土地交易；2、多处房产；3、家眷移民；4、多名女性；5、海外存款；6、腰带手表；7、雷人事件；8、得罪媒体；9、惊人语录；10、视频照片；11、网民目标；12、商人死党；13、家属跋扈；以上每条均为一点即垮之死穴，而目前已栽官员，几乎同时符合所有诸条，可见反腐之路之漫漫！ [Chinese]
Zhou Yongkang was also accused of committing adultery with “several women” upon his arrest and expulsion from the Party on December 5, 2014:
释不归: I just want to know, who is “Several Woman” anyway? Why are officials so fond of committing adultery with her? (December 6, 2014)
只想知道“多名女性”是谁?为什么领导都喜欢和她通奸? [Chinese]
Want to learn more subversive netizen slang? Check out Decoding the Chinese Internet: A Glossary of Political Slang. Available for $2.99 in the Kindle, Google Play, and iTunes stores. All proceeds from the sale of this eBook support China Digital Times.
