Bookstores Become Sites of Subtle Protest Against Xi Jinping
Chinese bookstore shelf arrangements rarely go viral—that is, unless they contain a hidden message...
humor
Quote of the Day: “Not So Much ‘Lying Down’ as Finding It Impossible to Get Ahead”
Today’s quote of the day derives from netizen backlash to the Communist Youth League’s (CYL) recent video broadside against “lying down”—referring to the much-discussed phenomenon of people slacking off, quietly giving up, or...
Quote of the Day: “Laid Off at 35, Re-employed at 60”
Chinese netizens have had a lot to say about economist Ma Jiantang’s prescription for adapting to the “era of longevity” by reclassifying workers between the ages of 60-70 as “the youthful elderly,” those between the ages of...
Quote of the Day: “Nowadays, People are Proving Their Patriotism by Destroying Bottles of Nongfu Spring Water”
In recent weeks, two very familiar household names in China—Nobel prize-winning novelist Mo Yan and bottled water company Nongfu Spring—have come under fire from extreme Chinese nationalists, who have accused the pair of odd...
Extreme Nationalists Accuse Nobel Laureate Mo Yan, Bottled Water Company Nongfu Spring of Being Insufficiently Patriotic
In recent weeks, both the Nobel prize-winning novelist Mo Yan and the Chinese bottled water company Nongfu Spring have come under fire from extreme Chinese nationalists, who have accused them of being insufficiently patriotic....
Quote of the Day: “How is This Lunar New Year’s Eve Different From Years Past? So Few Red Envelopes”
Popular science and current events blogger Xiang Dongliang’s musing on the Chinese Lunar New Year 2024 is CDT’s Quote of the Day: What struck me most about CCTV’s “Year of the Dragon” Spring Festival Gala? So many adverts. How...
Anxious Chinese Investors Stick Their Necks Out Under U.S. Embassy “Giraffe” Post
Amid a market rout that brought Chinese stocks to a five-year low, a state media that continues to push blindly optimistic economic bromides, and a constricted online environment in which the Ministry of State Security has...
Netizen Voices: “So a General Election Doesn’t Represent Mainstream Public Opinion?”
Saturday’s general election in Taiwan, in which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority but saw its presidential candidate Lai Ching-te elected with 40% of the vote, was closely watched in...
CDT Chinese Editors’ “People of the Year, 2023”: Comedians
To round out 2023, CDT Chinese compiled a series of year-end articles on a number of special topics, including sensitive words (part one and part two), censored articles, “rollover scenes,” and notable reports. This post...
Ministry of State Security Warnings Against Economic Pessimism Cast a Pall
A recent trio of pronouncements by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) warning against expressions of pessimism about the Chinese economy have sparked worries among businesspeople, economists, and analysts who fear that...
Party-State’s Omertà on History Mutes Popular Book Series, Academic Discourse, and Genghis Khan
Some recent restrictions placed on historical books, museum exhibits, and academic discourse have brought renewed attention to the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to rewrite history, control the historical narrative, and...
Lit Mag Announces Sudden Closure After Cover Seemingly Satirizes Xi Jinping
A popular periodical featuring essays and nonfiction writing announced that it is suspending operations after 35 years. The announcement followed online chatter that the December cover was an oblique criticism of Xi Jinping. Xi...
Weibo User Banned After Reporting Nationalist Pundit Hu Xijin for Illegal VPN Use
Current affairs blogger Xiang Dongliang has had his Weibo account banned for reporting Hu Xijin, a nationalist blogger and retired editor-in-chief of the Global Times, for using a VPN to circumvent the Great Firewall of China...
“Joke of the Year”: Nationalist Pundit Sima Nan Says He “Strives to Promote Friendly Sino-American Relations”
As Chinese state media tone down their anti-U.S. rhetoric and promote the Weibo hashtag #感受中美民意暖流# (#Experience the Warm Current of Public Opinion on Sino-American Relations) in recognition of the Xi-Biden meeting on the...
“Good Morning, Class! I Am Not a Spy.”
A photo of an American teacher introducing himself to a Chinese university class with a slide presentation proclaiming, “I am not a spy” has gone viral, eliciting much mirth online. It also highlights an increasingly tense...
Words of the Week: Xi’s Obscure Nicknames, from ↗↘↗ to “2-4-2” to “N” to “n-butane”
With hundreds of documented (and censored) online sobriquets, Xi Jinping is arguably the most nicknamed leader in recent Chinese history. To stay ahead of the censors, online Chinese have long resorted to using homophones,...
Weibo Censors Genie Joke for Wishing You-Know-What on You-Know-Who
Sometimes, it’s the censors who imbue a joke with political power. Earlier this week, Weibo user @怪以德服人猫’s account was deleted for violating Weibo policy. Their likely violation? A joke, described by some netizens as “very...
Translation: Chang Ping Riffs on Beleaguered Comedians, Stray Dogs, and the PLA
In mainland China, August 1 is known as PLA Day or Army Day, and commemorates the establishment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 1927. This year, the celebration of the PLA’s 96th anniversary coincided with a...
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