Chinese web users frustrated by the blocking of sensitive terms have come up with a system of bizarre code words to allow them to post on a political saga that has gripped the blogosphere.<\/p>\n
China blocks all information deemed sensitive under a vast censorship system known as the “Great Firewall”, but the huge rise of weibos –microblogs similar to Twitter — is making this task increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n
In recent days censors have been working overtime to remove references to the dramatic sacking last week of rising political star Bo Xilai and rumours of a coup led by security chief Zhou Yongkang, said to have been close to Bo.<\/p>\n
Bloggers have tried to get round this by referring to Zhou as “Master Kong” — a brand of instant noodles — because the names share a common character in Chinese.<\/p>\n
“Played too big, Master Kong is now in trouble,” posted one weibo user under the name Engineer Zhongyu.<\/p>\n
Premier Wen Jiabao, who criticised Bo on the eve of his sacking, is referred to as “Teletubbies” because his name shares a character with the Chinese name for the popular children’s television series.<\/p>\n
And President Hu Jintao has been given the name “carrot” because “Hu” uses the Chinese character for the vegetable.<\/p>\n
“For today’s tug of war, carrot and Teletubby have patiently waited for years, which is not easy,” posted a weibo user called Long Long River, in an apparent reference to the political divisions in the ruling Communist Party.<\/p>\n
Censors have blocked all forms of search on the weibos for terms linked to Bo, who was removed as party chief of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing last Thursday.<\/p>\n
Search terms such as “Bo Xilai”, Bo’s son “Bo Guagua” or his wife “Gu Kailai” have all been censored on Sina.com’s popular weibo.<\/p>\n
References to “Ferrari” have also been deleted after an unknown driver crashed his Italian sports car in Beijing and died, sparking speculation he may have been the son of a top leader.<\/p>\n
Political analysts say Bo’s ousting has exposed deep divisions in the Communist Party ahead of a generational handover of power later this year.<\/p>\n
The lack of an official explanation for the move has served to fuel the online rumour mill, which has this week buzzed with groundless speculation of a a military coup, gunshots and even tanks rolling into central Beijing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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