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).

  • YeetPics
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    75 hours 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.

    • @[email protected]
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      9 hours 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

      • @[email protected]
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        225 minutes 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.

        • @barsquid
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          66 hours ago

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

    • @barsquid
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      1511 hours 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.”

    • Guy Dudeman
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      13 hours ago

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

      You know, like state capitalism!

  • @NOT_RICK
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    1613 hours ago

    The wrongthink list just keeps growing and growing

    • @[email protected]
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      3314 hours 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.

      • @InverseParallax
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        513 hours ago

        It’s ironic that they need to line the CCP against a wall.

        While having a conveniently sized wall right there.

  • Ogmios
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    614 hours ago

    Imagine demanding that the world make sense to you.

  • @[email protected]
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    514 hours 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)

    • partial_accumen
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      211 hours 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.

    • Guy Dudeman
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      313 hours ago

      I’m not an android guy. How old?

      • @[email protected]
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        412 hours 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.

  • @YaDownWitCPP
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    113 hours ago

    Move along, nothing to see here.