Campaign targets wordplay and memes that are often used by people to get around censorship controls

China’s internet regulators have launched a campaign cracking down on puns and homophones, one of the last remaining ways for citizens to safely discuss sensitive subjects without recriminations or censorship.

“For some time, various internet jargons and memes have appeared frequently, leaving people more and more confused,” said an editorial by the Communist party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily

China’s online spaces are strictly monitored and censored. Some sensitive topics and terms are strictly banned, such as references to the Tiananmen massacre, or criticism of President Xi Jinping. Insulting individuals or China generally is also frowned upon.

In response, users have adapted, using funny or obscure references and in-jokes to get around the censorship. Many rely on homophones, using phrases that sound very similar in Mandarin, but were written with different Chinese characters, such as the word for “paratrooper” (sǎn bīng) instead of “idiot” (shǎ bī).

    • Guy Dudeman@lemmy.worldEnglish
      33·
      29 days ago

      They see nothing wrong with this because “it’s necessary in the short term”.

      You know, like state capitalism!

    • TachyonTele@lemm.eeEnglish
      33·
      29 days ago

      https://lemm.ee/post/45588849

      Hopefully you can follow that link. Ml mods removed the article lmao.

      Edit. Holy shit, they banned me from .ml all together for posting the article! It wasn’t even lemmygrad ml, it was just the ml world news comm. Lmao.

      The reason was “rule 1”, which is:

      Please only post links to actual news sources, no tabloid sites, etc.

      That’s hilarious

      • Hubi@feddit.orgEnglish
        23·
        29 days ago

        Of course, The Guardian - the famous tabloid without any actual news lol

        • barsquid@lemmy.worldEnglish
          9·
          29 days ago

          I think you’re supposed to accept only articles from the Grayzone, and those without any fact checking whatsoever.

      • ravhall@discuss.onlineEnglish
        91·
        29 days ago

        Basically anything out of an ML mouth I distrust. If they’re trying to promote china and destroy the west, they’re doing a really shitty job at it.

        • TachyonTele@lemm.eeEnglish
          31·
          28 days ago

          Yup. There are four articles from the guardian on that comms front page right now.

    • barsquid@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      29 days ago

      “This is western propaganda, actually everyone can write what they like. Furthermore censorship is necessary to keep capitalist lies out of the country, so being banned from criticizing the government is a good thing.”

    • ravhall@discuss.onlineEnglish
      38·
      29 days ago

      It’s more complicated than that. Your isp knows when you use a vpn. Your isp sometimes knows when you use tor. That’s why end to end encryption is so important. But in china, these activities are banned. So connecting to the wrong vpn could get them in trouble.

      I hope these poor souls get a new damned government.

    • hddsx@lemmy.caEnglish
      6·
      29 days ago

      Clearly you have never been to China. It can take extra steps to VPN

  • YeetPics@mander.xyzEnglish
    11·
    29 days ago

    China could just make explosive collars that read minds and when the thought criminals have that thought that crosses the line; boom.

    No more thought crime after the first few weeks AND a boost to employment for a month or two as the janitorial service backup with work.

    You’re welcome, China.

  • ExecEnglish
    8·
    29 days ago

    Now that’s an old thumbnail picture. Android 4.x on an old-style LG phone, along with the “green blocks” design play store (just after the android market rebrand)

      • i_am_not_a_robot@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        4·
        29 days ago

        Android 4 was the reunification of Android 2 for phones and Android 3 for tablets. I think it coincided with the launch of the original Nexus 7 and Google Assistant, and I think I was installing third-party Android 4 builds on one of the first US phones with 4G LTE.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      29 days ago

      Likely the article author (or editor) simple searched their stock photography subscription with the keywords “chinese text on smart phone” and went with the first result.

  • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    29 days ago

    That’s not really an accurate translation of 傻屄 (shǎbī), it’s a very vulgar way to say “stupid cunt”, and you’d usually substitute the second character for, e.g., 比/逼 or even an actual “B” because the character itself is considered offensive (meaning components are 尸 “body” + 穴 “hole/cavity”, worsened by the fact 尸 is actually the “corpse” radical).