As of July 28, the following search terms were blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the “search for user” function).
Terror in Shache County, Xinjiang
More than 24 hours after a group of knife-wielding assailants reportedly attacked launched an attack in Shache County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang early Monday morning, Xinhua reported [Chinese] that dozens of civilian bystanders had been killed, as had dozens of the perpetrators. Unverified reports of an attack in Shache had earlier been shared—and quickly deleted—online. Radio Free Asia reported that the Internet has been completely blacked out in the area since Monday morning.
- 莎车＋爆炸: Shache + explosion
- 喀什＋爆炸: Kashgar + explosion
- 新疆＋爆炸: Xinjiang + explosion
- 莎车＋出大事: Shache + major event happened
- 喀什＋出大事: Kashgar + major event happened
- 新疆＋出大事 : Xinjiang + major event happened
- 莎车＋通信管制: Shache + communication control
- 喀什＋通信管制: Kashgar + communication control
- 新疆＋通信管制: Xinjiang + communication control
Guo Boxiong
Amid Xi Jinping’s ongoing crackdown on corruption, former Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Guo Boxiong is rumored to be under investigation. Netizen speculation tied recent delays at both Shanghai international airports to a rumors that Guo, dressed in drag, had attempted to flee the country.
- G将军＋出逃: General G + flee
- 郭将军＋出逃: General Guo + flee
- 郭＋男扮女装: Guo + dress in drag
- 郭正刚: Guo Zhenggang—Guo Boxiong’s son, also rumored to be under investigation.
More
- 克拉娃: Carat Baby—reference to a Soviet singer/spy with whom Jiang Zemin allegedly had an affair during his time in Russia. After search engine Baidu recently briefly lifted a ban on the term, search results were mostly pictures of the retired Party leader, and netizens “surrounded and watched.”
- 习王: Xi [Jinping] Wang [Qishan]—the two men at the helm of the ongoing crackdown on Party corruption
- zheng变: coup d’état (alternate “spelling” of 政变)
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:
