Inside the Chinese censorship rabbit hole
On Chinese social media, Xi Jinping, ejaculation jokes, and the Relevant Organs parody Twitter account are among the subjects which are no-gos. But what occasionally does get past the censors might surprise you.
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I am an American columnist for a fairly well-known Chinese tech, business, and culture news website. Most of its readers are in their 20s or 30s and live in Chinaโs first-tier cities. Many work for tech companies. In addition to publishing a few longform articles every month, the platform has a Twitter-like feature on which its writers and editors post updates, comments, and jokes regarding the cultural, business, and political landscapes of China and the world. In other words, a lot like Twitter, but specific to the people on this particular platform.
While I can speak and write passable Chinese, for many of my posts, I will first write them in English and send to the editors for review. If they think it is OK to post, they will often translate it into Chinese. Because this is China, one-fifth of them get rejected, usually on the basis of political sensitivity. But after doing this for a while, Iโve found it quite interesting to see what posts get approved, what get rejected, and what gets a strong reaction from the platformโs readers โ and why.
Below are a series of posts from the past few months, along with what gets accepted and rejected โ and what that seems to say about the โrulesโ of the Chinese internet in 2018. It should be noted that most of what I post is not particularly sensitive, but the ones that Iโm sharing here are those that get a little closer to the โline.โ As per the request of my companyโs editorial team, the name of the site will remain anonymous.
January 23, 2018
What I wrote:
่ฟๅทๅ็บธ็logoๅ่ฟๆฅ็๏ผไธ็นๆๆฎ็ๅคดๅ็ฎ็ดโฆโฆ
When you turn this toilet paper logo upside down, it bears a striking resemblance to Trump…
Approved!
Iโll spare you the details of how I came to see this toilet paper-Trump resemblance, but this got approved easily โ along with most Trump jokes. Like much of the world, Chinese netizens seem fascinated with the American president. Aside from the same reasons that the rest of us are captivated by the actions of the persimmon-in-chief,ย Kaiser Kuo wrote a piece a couple of years backย on this topic that is worth another read.
April 10, 2018
What I wrote:
Of all the things the man has done while in office, ditching the hair dye is the ULTIMATE power move.
Denied
A remark on a tweet by Bloombergโs Kristine Servando was rejected on grounds that they could be interpreted as being disrespectful to Chairman Xi. I did not personally intend for the joke to convey disrespect, but I understand the caution. Criticism or mockery of Xi, or anything even close to it, is getting increasingly squeezed in China.
April 11, 2018
What I wrote:
่ฟๅผ ๅพ๏ผๅฏไปฅ่ฏดๆฏFacebookไธ๏ผ็จๆท้็ง็็ฐๅฎ็้ๅปไบโฆโฆ
A real-life metaphor for what privacy is like for Facebookโs usersโฆ
Approved!
I believe this may have been my most-liked post ever on the platform. Zuckerberg and Facebook, like Trump, seem to be reliable objects of both ridicule and admiration for a lot of readers.
April 15, 2018
What I wrote:
ๆณ็ฅ้ไธญ็พไธคๅฝๅจๆณๅพๆณ่งใๅชไฝ็ฏๅขๅไบ่็ฝ็ฎก็ๆน้ข็ไธชไธญๅทฎๅผๅ๏ผๅช้ๅ ณๆณจๆๅ ไผฏๆ ผๅๅผ ไธ้ธฃ่ฟไธๅจไปฅๆฅ็ไธๅ็ปๅๅฐฑ่ถณๅคไบใ
Want to know the difference between China and the U.S. in laws and regulations, media environment, and internet management? Just look at (Facebookโs) Mark Zuckerberg and (Bytedanceโs) Zhang Yimingโs respective weeks, and it will tell you most of what you need to know.
Approved!
In the same week as Zuckerbergโs Capitol Hill testimony, Bytedance, the parent company of platforms like Jinri Toutiao and Douyin, underwent a series of disciplinary actions from regulators. Zhang released a 4 am self-criticism, admitting to insufficient adherence to โSocialist Core Values.โ
I did not expect this to be posted, but it seems OK because I didnโt go into much detail or condemn the Chinese model, but rather made a broad and objective comparison. One high-ranking editor of mine has often encouraged me to write a piece doing a side-by-side comparison of the pros and cons of the Chinese vs. American internet governance systems. When I expressed apprehension as to the political sensitivity of the topic, she responded, โUse different names, write in theoretical terms, and be fair. Youโll be fine.โ
April 16, 2018
What I wrote:
Belt and Road is a historically ambitious project. Even if it is resoundingly successful as a whole, it will still involve many failures. Roadblocks, failures, and lessons are to be expected on the path to success with something this grand in scale.
However, can that be discussed in China?
Denied
Can that be discussed in China? Answer: No, it cannot.
Like Xi himself, major initiatives tied to his legacy, like the Belt and Road Initiative, seem to be somewhat untouchable as well. We can refer to them, just not in any negative or critical light.
April 17, 2018
What I wrote:
ไธไฝๅจๅญๅฎถ็ๅ ฌๅธๅ่ดขๅกๅทฅไฝ็ๆๅๆพๅ่ฏ่ฟๆ๏ผ
โๅจไธญๅฝ๏ผๆฒกๆไธๅฎถๆฟๅฐไบงๅ ฌๅธ็้ฑๆฏๅนฒๅ็๏ผ่ไธญๅฝๅคงๅคๆฐๅฏไบบ้ฝ่ตทๅฎถไบๆฟๅฐไบง็ๆโฆโฆโ
From a contact of mine who had worked in the financial arm of one of Sunโs companies:
โIn China, no real estate companies are built on clean money; but also in China, most fortunes start with real estate.โ
Approved!
This photo is a Weibo tweet implicating Tianjin-based real estate tycoon Sun Hongbin in a bribery scandal, which was quickly deleted (the Weibo tweet that is, not my post โบ). I came across it when China-watcher Bill Bishop shared it on Twitter. I thought it would be too sensitive to be allowed, but they posted it and it got a very positive response.
April 20, 2018
What I wrote:
ไธๅพๆฏ็พๅฝๅๅก้จๅปๅนด10ๆๅๅธ็ๅ ้จ่ฎฒไน๏ผไธป่ฆ่ฎฒ็ๅฐฑๆฏไปไปฌ้ๅฏนไธญๅ ด็่ฐๆฅใ
The following are slides from an October 2017 internal presentation at the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the findings of the ZTE investigation. (I shared screenshots from the entire slide deck, which you can read in its entirety here.)
Approved!
This was around the time when ZTE-related content was reportedly being censored on the Chinese internet. However, there was no problem with my posting of this at all, and it spurred a lively yet civil discussion on the platform.ย To this day, I find it difficult to gauge what, if any, consensus there is among the Chinese government and public toward the ZTE issue.
April 22, 2018
What I wrote:
Things are gonna get even tighter? How tight is too tight?
Denied
This was rejected for a few reasons, it seems: First, it was referring to, and making a joke about, a statement by Xi. Second, I made a direct reference to censorship, which also tends to be a no-go.ย After all, censors are people too, and I suspect that it would not be a good idea for a media company to get on their bad sideโฆ
May 9, 2018
What I wrote:
I wonder what Karl Marx would think about the ๆทๅฃ (hukou) systemโฆ
Approved!
During a week when much of the news in China was celebrating Marxโs 200th anniversary, I made a post commenting on the hukou system, a sort of intra-national passport system within the PRC that is often cited as an institutional dividing line between the rural poor and urban wealthy. Since it touches on a policy that has had a huge impact on Chinese peopleโs lives,ย I thought it would be rejected. However, it was accepted, with an average response.
Here’s how the post looked on our platform:
May 12, 2018
What I wrote:
TF Boys have some competitionโฆ
Approved!
I posted a joke in English comparing this photo of leaders from China, Japan, and Korea to boy band TF Boys. I thought it would get rejected, but it did not. I suspect that if Xi were in the photo instead of Li Keqiang, it would probably be a different story. Images likening Xi to Winnie the Poohย have notoriously been scrubbedย from the Chinese internet.
May 26, 2018
What I wrote:
From the parody Twitter account @RelevantOrgans:
Denied
@RelevantOrgans is a parody Twitter account that skewers the Chinese Communist Party. I took a liking to this tweet in particular, expecting it to get rejected, and sure enough, it did.
It should be said that if you are an individual who enjoys brilliant China-themed subversive humor, check out @relevantorgans on Twitter. Really good stuff.
May 28, 2018
What I wrote:
ๅฆๅพๆ่ง๏ผๅ้ณๅบๅ้พ่ฎบๅ่ฏทๆฅไบไธไฝ็นๅซ็ๅ่จไบบโโ
่ฏด่ตทๆฅ๏ผๅบๅ้พๆๆฏไนๆไปฅๅ ทๆ้ข ่ฆๆงๆไน๏ผๅฐฑๅจไบๅฎ่ฎฐๅฝ็ไฟกๆฏไธๅฏๅ ้คใไธๅฏไฟฎๆนใ
ๆขๅฅ่ฏ่ฏด๏ผๅฆๆ็จๅบๅ้พๆๆฏๅป่ฎฐๅฝไบไปถ๏ผๅฝ็ถๅ ๆฌๆไบๅฏ่ฝๅฏนๆไบไบบๆฅ่ฏดไธๆฟๆๅ็ไบไปถ๏ผๆถ๏ผๅฝไบไบบๅฐฑไธ่ฝๅ่ฃ ไปไน้ฝๆฒกๅ็๏ผไปไธ่ฝๅปไฟฎๆนไฟกๆฏ๏ผไนไธ่ฝๅฐๅ ถ็งป้คใ่ฟๆถๅ๏ผไปๅช่ฝ่ฏๅฎ็ๅป้ขๅฏน้ฎ้ขใ่งฃๅณ้ฎ้ข๏ผไธ็ฎกๆดไธช่ฟ็จๆฏๅคไน็่ฐ้พใ
As you can see from the picture, a special spokesperson was invited to the Boao Blockchain Forum โ
It should be noted that the reason why blockchain technology has a disruptive significance is that the information it records cannot be deleted or modified.
In other words, if you use blockchain technology to record events (including, of course, certain events that may not be mentioned by some people), the parties cannot pretend that nothing has happened and cannot modify the information. Can’t remove it. At this time, they can only honestly face their problems, no matter how difficult the whole process is.
Approved!
On the day that this went out, a Mao impersonator spoke at the Boao Blockchain Forum for Asia in Hainan, China. This created quite the buzz on the Chinese internet, since there have been recent crackdowns against disrespecting โrevolutionary heroes.โย I used this to make a not-so-veiled reference to the darker aspects of the Great Helmsmanโs legacy which are often overlooked in the CCPโs historical narrative. Apparently, it was veiled enough to be allowed.
There still seems to be some degree of flexibility when it comes to criticizing Maoโs legacy. I have no idea where those lines are, howeverโฆ
May 31, 2018
What I wrote:
ๅ ๆฟๅคงๆฟๅบๅๅๆ็ปไบไธ้กนไธญๅฝๅ ฌๅธๅฏน่ฏฅๅฝๆๅปบ็ญๅทจๅคด็ๆถ่ดญๅจ่ฎฎใๅฏนๆญคๆๆฒกไปไนๅฏ่ฏด็๏ผๅฏไธ้่ฆ้็ณ็ๆฏ๏ผ่ดธๆไฟๆคไธปไนไธไผๅธฆๆฅไปไนๅฅฝๅคใ
ไธ่ฟไธญๅฝๅคงไฝฟ็ๅๅบๅผ่ตทไบๆ็ๆณจๆ๏ผไปๅจๅ ฌๅผๅๅบไธญ่กจ็คบ๏ผไธญๆนๅๅฏนไปปไฝๆ็ปๆต้ฎ้ขๆฟๆฒปๅ๏ผๆปฅ็จๅฝๅฎถๅฎๅ จ็ๅไน็่กไธบใ
่ฟๆๆณ่ตทไบๆฏๅนด็4ๆ15ๆฅ๏ผๅฝไธญๅฝ็โๅฝๅฎถๅฎๅ จๆ่ฒๆฅโๅฐๆฅๆถ๏ผๅฐ้้ๅผ ่ดด็ๅ็งๅก้ๅพ็ปใ้ฃไบๅพ็ปๅๆ็ๅ่ฏๅๅธไธญ็ๆๆไบบ๏ผๅๆ่ฟๆ ท็่ๅคๆฏๅคไนๅฏๆ๏ผๅๆฏๅคไน้่ฆไบบไปฌ็่ญฆๆใ
The Canadian government has just rejected a Chinese companyโs acquisition of a Canadian construction firm. I have no opinion about this, other than trade protectionism generally is unproductive.
However, the Chinese ambassadorโs response caught my attention. In an open response, he stated that China opposes politicizing and wantonly using the concept of national security.
This reminds me of the various cartoon pictures posted on the subway when China’s National Security Education Day arrivesย on April 15 of each year, when cartoons are posted at the subway stations of the city where I live, telling its people to be afraid and suspicious of people like me…
Approved!
This is not the first time that I raised an issue with how foreigners are depicted in some โnational securityโ-themed state propaganda. Usually they not only get approved, but get far more support than criticism from readers. I suspect that many are already used to rolling their eyes at state propaganda like this, but there are also more practical reasons. One reader responded with, โMost American spies are Chinese or Chinese-American anyway.โ
May 31, 2018
What I wrote:
Well…. I can see how the ๆ and the ้ป can be confusing. Am I missing something with the ็๏ผ
Approved!
This photo of a poorly-translated dish at a Crown Plaza Hotel buffet was making the rounds in some of my WeChat groups, so I decided to post, and the readers seemed to like it.
At the risk of explaining this joke for English-language readers: ๆ้ป็ (pฤi huรกngguฤ) is the name of this dish, i.e., smashed cucumbers. But the individual charactersย all mean something different, when isolated: ๆ is โsmash/beat/bang,โ but also can mean โshoot/make (a film/picture).โ ้ป is literally โyellowโ โ which, in some contexts, can refer to pornography. ็ means โmelon.โ (Only read together โ ้ป็ โ does this mean โcucumber.โ)
Anyway, whatever translating software did the above simply chose to ignore the โ็.โ Donโt know why.
June 2, 2018
What I wrote:
I donโt know if this real, but if so, bravo to Durex Chinaโs marketing team for another classic.
Denied
The caption in that picture reads: “This time, you really can shoot.”
Durex has long been known to have racy, funny, and relevant ads in China, though I still donโt know if this one was real. This one appeared following the infamous first game of this yearโs NBA Finals, in which well-known chucker JR Smith, with the clock running down in a tie game, made a blunder by notย shooting when he should have. This was deemed โtoo dirtyโ for the platform.
There is a line when it comes to sexually explicit content on the Chinese web. Itโs hard to determine exactly where that is, though.
June 4, 2018
What I wrote:
When it comes to civil-military fusion, China is taking it quite seriously.
Approved!
Over the past few years (and past few months in particular), China has been undergoing a push in โcivil-military fusion,โย in which Chinese tech firms will be more closely involved in military projects. In the bamboo forests of Sichuan province, there are rumors of a secret projectโฆ ๐
While civil-military fusion has caused concern amongst Western scholars and journalists, it has been spoken of quite openly over Chinese state media, and doesnโt seem to come with much baggage or sensitivity.
June 4, 2018
What I wrote:
From Chinaโs most beloved Canadian. Iโd read it, thatโs for sure.
Denied
On the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square student protests and, well, โincident,โ this tweet was sent out by Mark Rowswell, better known to Chinese audiences as โDa Shanโ (ๅคงๅฑฑ). He is often referred to as โChinaโs most famous foreigner,โ so the fact that he was hinting at writing about his June 4 experience was relevant. I still think itโs relevant, but given the subject matter, it wasnt not allowed to be posted.
It is quite clear that even 29 years later, this remains one of the most untouchable topics in China.
What Iโve learned:
Despite not exactly being a โfree and openโ place, there is still room for discourse within some corners of the Chinese internet. It is, at least for now, not the barren wasteland of free speech that some make it out to be.ย My experience on the Chinese internet has been overwhelmingly positive, even when I am critical of certain aspects of Chinese society.
It is also worth noting how most censorship happens in China: it is performed by platforms and editors themselves. This is not to take a shot at their professionalism or their journalistic credentials; in fact, quite the opposite. If they were to publish content that ran afoul of actual government censors, it could be at the cost of their jobs, careers, or the sustainability of the platform itself. These people must walk a precarious tightrope, putting out content that is meaningful, credible, and engaging to their audience while staying away from censorsโ โred lines,โ which are unclear even to the savviest among them.
Finally, I feel the need to emphasize the context in which my experience takes place. I have editors who approve, reject, or polish my posts and articles to fit standards of acceptability. My readers are mostly from big cities, and are educated white-collar workers. If I cannot write about a topic, I have the luxury of being able to just move on to the next one. But for Chinese people who are actually impacted by these โsensitive topics,โ there is no such option for detachment. It is those 1.4 billion people who need to live in this online reality, for better or for worse.
