Your mother forced this on us

都是你妈逼的 (dōu shì nǐ mā bī de): your mother forced this on us

This phrase, which originates from a joke that went viral on the Internet, has been adopted by netizens for use when they feel unable to comment on something politically sensitive. They will say 妈逼的: mother (i.e., the Party) forced this on me (i.e., forced me to refrain from commenting). The phrase also carries an additional layer of subversive meaning: in Mandarin, “mother forced this” (妈逼的) sounds nearly the same as “your mother's cunt”.

The original joke involves a man and a woman who are rehearsing for a play:

Woman: It seems that the matter of our marriage has been forced upon us by your mother.

Man: Ha, the way I see it, it was your mother that forced it on us.

Woman: Your mother forced this on us, your mother forced this on us. It was your mother that forced this on us! (In Chinese this sounds like, “your mother's cunt, your mother's cunt”)

Man: Mother-fucker! I’m not rehearsing any more! Which idiot wrote these lines?

女：我看啊，咱俩的婚事儿，都是你妈逼的．

男：呵呵，我看，是你妈逼的吧．

女：你妈逼的，你妈逼的！就是你妈逼的！

男：妈了个逼的！不排了！哪个王八蛋写的词儿

A political variation of the joke further explains the phrase's contemporary usage:

Hu Zheteng (Hu Jintao): Oh Party, you are my dear mother!

Foreign exchange student passing by: The Party is your mother?

Hu Zheteng: That’s right. What about it?

Foreign exchange student: I hear that Google is going to pull out of China. Did your mother force them to do this? (Sounds like, "your mother's cunt.")

胡折腾: 党啊，亲爱的妈妈！

路过外国留学生：党是你的妈妈？

胡折腾：对啊，怎么了？

路过外国留学生：听说，Google要退出中国了，你妈逼的？

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