A group blog about Chinese tech, media and design
Internet memes about social issues have a spotty history on China’s internet, where netizens have had to evade, obfuscate and mask their posts in an evolving game of censorship cat and mouse. This was the case with the infamous…
Continue readingAcceptable Protest: The 2019 workplace meme that’s thriving on China’s internet
A few years ago, I observed a curious addition to the emoji set on Sina Weibo: a Grass Mud Horse. It was a little…
Continue readingHas the Grass Mud Horse been defanged?
In Chinese internet parlance, to 装B (zhuāng bì) is to put on airs — worldly, moneyed, educated, eccentric, or any other combination thereof. In other words: to be a fucking poser.…
Continue readingZHUANG B — (v.) to be a poser
A few weeks ago I was interviewed along with citizen reporter, Tufu Wugan aka “The Butcher”, in Jessi Levine’s What a “Human Flesh Search” Is, And How It’s Changing China…
Like pretty much anyone else paying attention to the story, I was stunned to see the images of protests in Hong Kong, with people of all ages donning black to rail against Beijing’s plan to enact national education. Hong Kongers deemed it brainwashing, a paternalistic move from Beijing to inculcate the special territory into its ways. The sheer scale of…
Continue readingHong Kong Citizens’ Online, Memetic Protest
Real name registration has come and gone. The article Tricia and I penned for Wired noted some of the dangers behind the requirements to register one’s real name (it’s quite rigorous – you have to include your identification card):
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Continue readingReal Name Registration One Month Later
Any foreigner who’s visited a Chinese city notices it right away. It’s one of the most dominant memories of the main cityscapes I’ve witnessed across China, from Hong Kong to Chonqging to Shanghai to Beijing. Smog. …
Continue readingHow Memes and Infographics Are Driving the Push for Clean Air
Lei Feng. He’s like a 20th century, Chinese Cincinnatus (minus the part about being an emperor), a humble servant of the people. An early member of the Communist youth corps, Lei joined the People’s Liberation Army and…
Continue readingLearn from Lei Feng — The Meme
Those of us following China have noticed the increasing tensions between Hong Kong and mainlanders. More and more mainland women have been crossing the border into Hong Kong to have babies, where their children can expect to receive better healthcare and a coveted Hong Kong passport, which offers more freedoms and privileges. Hong Kong citizens on the…
Continue readingLocusts and Pandas and Bears… 哦麦 (o mai)!