State of Anxiety on Film, Radio, and Television (SARFT)

广电总急 (guǎng diàn zǒng jí): SARFT is always anxious

In Chinese, the abbreviation for the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT)[zh]—the administrative body that directly regulates state-owned media—is 广电总局 (guǎng diàn zǒng jú). By changing the last character from jú to jí, the abbreviation forms the sentence, “SARFT is always anxious.” The humor of the phrase comes from the fact that netizens often perceive the Radio, Film and Television Administration as being over-anxious to prohibit sensitive or obscene content. In addition to regulating the content of broadcast media, the administration is also involved in regulating internet content.