The latest illustrated commentary on the Chinese Internet.
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- Weibo has been flooded with condolences for Lü Lingzi, the Chinese graduate student who died in the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Xu Wenguang (@许文广) uploaded this photo collage to Weibo with a heartfelt message for the victims: “Before, some of our countrymen were asking why we should mourn for victims on the other side of the globe. Then we learned that one of the three killed in the Boston bombing is one of our own. Today, Boston University is holding a memorial service for Chinese student Lü Lingzi. As we light a candle for the 23-year-old victim, please also light two more for eight-year-old Martin Richard and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell. Our names are not the same, but our souls all have the same weight.”
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- Magnifying social problems for a cameraman. This week, the newly formed State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television announced tighter restrictions on domestic media: foreign media and online sources cannot be used “without authorization,” nor can social media be used to “seek illegal benefits.” “Even Myanmar is more open than you [the government],” complained one netizen, alluding to the lifting of press restrictions in the southeast Asian country. (Dujiawang/@独家网)
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- Some “weibers” have reposted Li Yongqiu’s March cartoon, “Education,” in response to the harsh new regulations on the media. Intended as a commentary on China’s education system, it also resonates with netizens concerned about brainwashing by the state-controlled media. “Our so-called education,” Li warns, “simply takes students and turns them into books. It’s no education to speak of.” (Li Yongqiu/@李永秋漫画)
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- Is a Chinese education worth fighting for? On February 27, the ten-year-old daughter of activist Zhang Lin was kidnapped after school let out and kept in police custody for 20 hours. Anni was then barred from attending school. Earlier this month, protesters went to the gates of Anni’s school. Anni wrote a letter to Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan, a few days later. Anni is now back in school, where she is learning the harsh realities of surviving in today’s China. Read more about Anni’s case from Seeing Red in China. (Rebel Pepper/@remonwangxt)
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- Now you see him, now you don’t: Hong Kong paper Ta Kung Pao broke the story of Xi Jinping’s March cab ride, in which the driver didn’t recognize him until well into the journey. State media and Weibo ran with the story–until it turned out to be completely false. A cluster of terms related to the “news” are now blocked from Sina Weibo search results. (Badiucao/@badiucao)
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- The Monkey King fights his fiercest enemy yet: a bulldozer. Buildings at the Xingjiao Temple complex in Xi’an are slated for demolition by the end of May in a bid for UNESCO World Heritage status. The Global Times reports that only buildings added in the 1990s are to be torn down, including the monk’s living quarters. Xingjiao houses the relics of Xuan Zang, a seventh-century monk whose land voyage to India to bring back Buddhist scriptures inspired the classic novel Journey to the West. Among those fighting to preserve the temple is Liuxiao Lintong (Zhang Jinlai’s stage name), who played Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, in the 1988 TV drama based on the novel. (Meng Chenshang/@梦晨伤)
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- Come join the “Jiatai Mountain Villa Singing Rally to Valiantly Combat Avian Flu”! There are 92 confirmed cases of the H7N9 strain of bird flu in China, as well as 17 deaths. A World Health Organization is in China to investigate the possibility for human transmission of the disease. Jiatai is an imaginary country estate where the wealthy summer. Local governments in places like Jinxiang, Zhexiang Province (@苍南县金乡镇) are inspecting these hilly second homes for sanitation standards in an effort to staunch the bird flu. Follow CDT’s coverage of H7N9. (Lao Xiao/@老肖漫画_rmd)
