As of January 29, the following search terms are blocked on Weibo (not including the “search for user” function).
Xi Jinping and His Anti-corruption Crusade:
- 大荤君: Da Hun Jun—Literally “Great Meat Monarch,” this beverage from Mengniu Dairy was recently recalled from stores nationwide. The drink’s name could be interpreted as a pejorative reference to Xi Jinping.
- 贾廷安被抓: Jia Ting’an nabbed—Amid Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, state media has hinted that PLA General Political Department deputy director General Jia Tingan may soon be put under investigation.
- 贾廷安被调查: Jia Ting’an under investigation
- 祖英＋豪宅: Zuying + mansion—On January 20, state media printed a collection of photos from PLA folk singer Song Zuying’s lavish Beijing mansion [Chinese]. In July of last year, rumors surfaced that Song Zuying could be the next PLA “tiger” to fall; related search terms became blocked on Weibo and related news censored.
- 令计划＋大秘: Ling Jihua + big secret—An official graft investigation into former top Hu Jintao aide Ling Jihua was announced last month.
- 习＋拉帮结派: Xi + cliques—Amid Xi’s anti-graft drive, Party cadres were recently warned that inter-party cliques would “absolutely not be tolerated.”
- (习) 近平+大秘: Jinping + big secret
- 习＋微信: Xi + WeChat—Amid a wider crackdown on online speech and dissenting ideology, many popular WeChat accounts have recently been shut down for “distorting history.”
- 习＋马云: Xi + Jack Ma—A recent report from China’s industry and commerce regulator accused Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group of a “credibility crisis.”
Zhou Xiaoping and Fang Zhouzi: In October 2014, Xi Jinping praised patriotic blogger Zhou Xiaoping for his “positive energy” at the Beijing Forum on Art and Literature. This garnered the president some criticism, as Zhou was already infamous for his ardent nationalism and tendency to misrepresent facts. Following the presidential praise of Zhou, writer Fang Zhouzi dug into his earlier essay “Dream-Broken America”(梦碎美利坚), debunking several false claims made by the young blogger.
- 方舟子: Fang Zhouzi
- 周＋带鱼: Zhou + cutlassfish—”Cutlassfish Zhou” is a nickname for Zhou Xiaoping coined by netizens in 2013.
Son of a Former President:
- 江＋现身: Jiang + shows himself —Former president Jiang Zemin was photographed taking a walk with his family members in Hainan.
- 江绵恒＋双规: Jiang Mianheng + shuanggui—Recent media reports on human flesh searches for Jiang Zemin’s son Jiang Mianheng, who recently stepped down from his post as head of the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, show suspicion that momentum may be gaining for disciplinary action against the former leader [Chinese].
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:
