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MUMBAI: China doesn’t like your mum. Yes, your mum. They don’t like her to the extent that they want to ban her. They think she’s too “coarse.”
Okay, to be more specific, Chinese authorities want to ban the term “your mum” from the internet. Bloomberg reports: “Chinese Internet chief Lu Wei has at least 25 he wants to purge from the country’s cyberspace.
From the Mandarin-equivalent of the F-bomb to the more innocuous-sounding “your Mom,” Lu’s agency, the Cyberspace Administration of China, highlighted the words Tuesday as the most popular examples of “coarse language” saturating the country’s Internet. The agency used a symposium attended by representatives from Tencent Holdings Ltd., Sina Corp. and other Chinese Internet companies to press for cleaner language online.
The campaign against dirty words -- announced during a government cybersecurity conference in Beijing -- is the latest bid under President Xi Jinping to sanitize China’s Internet. Authorities have in recent months banned “unsound” online account names, limited political news sent via messaging apps and ordered the deletion of thousands of social-networking posts in a “Cleaning the Web” push.”
“Your mum” stands out because the Mandarin-equivalent of the term was said to be the most popular offensive term used on Sina Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) last year. Whilst it may be difficult to implement a ban on the term, it is not impossible, as Weibo’s senior manager for government affairs Yan Yuanping told the symposium that the site could filter vulgar words and delete posts including “coarse language.”
On that note, here is a list of things that have been banned in China:
1. Alice In Wonderland
The children's classic Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Why? Because China doesn’t like that animals talk.
2. Jasmine - the flower
Damn you “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia. Because of you the Chinese are Jasmine deprived (I’m not even kidding). Selling, growing or even talking about the flower is illegal!
3. Harrison Ford, Richard Gere & Brad Pitt
Harrison Ford and Richard Gere are banned for advocating Tibet’s independence. Brad Pitt is banned because he starred in the movie “Seven Years In Tibet.” By banned I mean they are not allowed to enter China.
4. Twitter, Google, Facebook et al
This should even surprise you.
5. Avatar in 2D
Avatar was banned in China probably because of the premise of an indigenous population against an imperialistic force. Only the 2D version was banned though, you can still watch it in China in 3D.
