[Saeko]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/01/asia/chi ... index.html

(CNN)It's kind of hard to spell China without the letter "N" (at least in English), but the Chinese had to make do without the letter for a while because it was banned.
Yes, that's right: The Chinese government banned a letter.
China banned "N" as part of a widespread censorship clampdown that occurred after word got out Sunday that presidential term limits might be dropped, allowing Chinese President Xi Jinping possibly to stay in power indefinitely.
The pushback to this development was intense online. So was the government's pushback to the pushback. In addition to banning use of the letter "N" online, words such as "immortality" and "ascend the throne" were also deemed inappropriate to use on the internet.

Victor Mair, a professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania, said the government likely feared that "N" was referring to the number of terms of office, as in a mathematical equation n > 2.
But the nixing of "N" was a temporary one. By Monday use of the letter online was once again permitted, according to China Digital Times.
Winnie the Pooh, too
But it wasn't just the alphabet that took a beating from Chinese censors. A beloved, fictional children's book character was banned online, too. For years memes derisively comparing Xi to the honey-loving bear Winnie the Pooh have circulated on the internet, so Pooh is periodically censored, like the character was Sunday after the term limits announcement, China Digital Times reported.
The rest of the world first heard about this ban in 2013 when the Financial Times reported on it and printed a long-circulated picture showing the bear strolling with his tiger friend, Tigger, next to a photo of Xi walking with his then-US counterpart, Barack Obama, in 2013.

When the image first appeared online, Chinese netizens began posting photos of Xi in, what they considered, similar poses.
They juxtaposed a picture of a frosty handshake between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with the image of Pooh and his gloomy donkey friend, Eeyore.
Next to a photo that showed Xi inspecting troops from an open-top vehicle, they included Pooh standing in a tiny green car.
Their sense of humor is ostensibly not shared by China's increasingly sophisticated internet czars.

CNN's James Griffiths and Steven Jiang contributed to this report.

Could your favorite letter be next? What does this mean for the future of numbers in China?

[Zagadka]

Didn't they do this, like, a long time ago?

[Godstud]

oh o! How is that going to affect all those Chi ese people who wa t to spell Chi a? This is goi g to be a disaster for them.

[Crantag]

The article is really vague and uninformative. The letter was supposedly banned Sunday and back Monday? Yeah alright, whatever.

N is not just used in English (which is studied by everyone in Chinese schools at every level), it is used in pinyin as well.

And just what was the alleged government pushback to the pushback? No word.

Imma call bullshit.

[cosmos898]

What a fake news used to fool people without a simple knowledge of Chinese words. Chinese words have no letters. It has to be censored by Chinese words group, not letters.
Chinese censorship is used to control media, similar with western media controlled by psychiatrist, in against negative impact may cause social instability, and jasmine movement intended to overthrow the government financed by CIA or its counterpart. It is useless to ban letter N by this means. It is only a joke for smart people to laugh out load, but for silly ones, they believe it is true news.

[fuser]

Good. The Uspeakable letter should't be used by ayoe.

[Prosthetic Conscience]

Didn't they do this, like, a long time ago?

This "Today's News" story is from 4 weeks ago.

[Ter]

I fully support that decision.
The Rulers of that country have to decide what is best for their people.
As you see it is perfectly possible to express thoughts without the use of that letter.

[SolarCross]

I am no fan of chinese fascists but the source for this story is CNN and they are comedy outfit doing fake news.

[Heisenberg]

the source for this story is CNN

[Godstud]

In her defense, the story about giant hornets was very startling. It was not fake news. It was a graphics error.

[SolarCross]

:eek:

Actually that makes sense.

CNN: Hey china can we come over and make up some fake news about China?

China: Um, no right honourable celestial emperor Xi says no, CNN is fake news, CNN is ban.

CNN: "N" is banned? Cool what a great story, I guess we don't need to go to China after all.

[Rugoz]

This was widely reported.

E.g. NYTimes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/worl ... nping.html

The blog entry by this professor Mair:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=36939

[Crantag]

This was widely reported.

E.g. NYTimes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/worl ... nping.html

The blog entry by this professor Mair:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=36939

That blog was a piece of propaganda shit.

The only source was a random twitter thread.

The medium on which it was supposedly banned is WeChat, which is a Chinese instant messaging app used by everyone in China.

I am in China, I was in China when the blog was written, and I can assure you that I was using WeChat, and that I wrote words containing the letter N.

Thanks for posting the source which still further sets grounds to ridicule the fake story.

You know the old phrase, 'if it's on TV, it must be true'?

People believing this shit is an instance of 'if it's on Twitter it must be true'.

A nonacademic wrote about it and then nonjournalists published it.

Nothing to see here.

[SolarCross]

So are we all agreed now that Trump was right all along about CNN being fake news?

[Crantag]

By the way. The internet is fast in China, and I have access to any website I want.

It only costs me $100 a year for a damn VPN.

[SolarCross]

So this is precious:

CNN: [lies lies lies lies - for decades]

Rightards: Hey you guys know CNN is fake news right?

Leftards: no way they are totally legit!

CNN: Chinese dictator does censorship

Leftards: NOOOOOO! Muh Chinese dictators! CNN how dare you! FAKE NEWS!

----------

Chinese wrongthink

[ThirdTerm]

It's kind of hard to spell China without the letter "N" (at least in English), but the Chinese had to make do without the letter for a while because it was banned.

Chine's social media is like a one gigantic forum which is controlled by government-appointed administrators who could ban any terms that are deemed offensive. Chinese internet users are banned from using names like “Kim Pig,” “Third fat kid,” and “Kim Fatty,” upon the Korean dictator's visit to Beijing. The Western media was too simplistic to report that the letter "N" was banned in social media and the following terms are actually blocked from being posted on Weibo,

Following state media’s announcement, censorship authorities began work to limit online discussion. CDT Chinese editors found the following terms blocked from being posted on Weibo:

The Emperor’s Dream (皇帝梦) — The title of a 1947 animated puppet film.
Disney (迪士尼) — See also “Winnie the Pooh,” below.
roll up + sleeves (撸起+袖子) — Phrase from Xi Jinping’s New Year 2017 public greeting.
Chinese Emperor stock (华帝股份) — Following the news of the proposed amendment, speculators rushed on stocks for companies containing the word “emperor” in their names. Vatti Corp, whose Chinese name translates to “Chinese Emperor” (华帝) experienced an initial surge, but leveled off by the time markets closed yesterday.
oppose Qing, restore Ming (反清复明) — Rallying slogan of anti-Qing Dynasty activists.
personality cult (个人崇拜) — Read more about the image-crafting campaign that has been steadily cultivated by state media over Xi’s first term.
the wheel of history (历史的车轮)
universal celebration (普天同庆)
Dream of Returning to the Great Qing (梦回大清) — Title of a 2006 book by Jin Zi.
change the law (变法)
Brave New World (美丽新世界) — See also “1984,” below.
Big River, Big Sea 1949 (大江大海1949) — The title of a collection of short stories about the Chinese Civil War published in 2009 by Taiwanese author Lung Ying-tai.
We will continue to update this list as new blocked post and search terms are discovered.]

my emperor (吾皇)
long live (万岁) — Literally “ten thousand years”
ascend the throne (登基)
to board a plane (登机) — Homophonous with 登基, “to ascend the throne.”
proclaim oneself emperor (称帝)
urge a power figure to formally seize the throne (劝进)
chairman + for life system (主席+终身制)
Yuan Shikai (袁世凯) — Influential warlord during the late Qing Dynasty, Yuan became the first formal president of the newly established Republic of China in 1912. In 1915, he briefly re-established China as a Confucian monarchy.
Hongxian (洪憲) — Reign title of the short-lived, re-established monarchy led by Yuan Shikai, who declared himself the Hongxian Emperor. After much popular disapproval and rebellion, Yuan formally abandoned the empire after 83 days as emperor.
reign title (年号)
recover one’s authority (复辟)
Hundred Days’ Reform (戊戌变法) — A failed Qing Dynasty reform movement by the Guangxu Emperor, quashed by a coup carried out by supporters of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
35th year of a 60 year cycle; abbreviation for Hundred Days Reform (戊戌)
Another 500 Years for Heaven (向天再借五百年) — Theme song for the CCTV series Kangxi Dynasty (康熙王朝), often used by netizens to mock leaders who grasp for power, particularly the line “I really want to live another 500 years” (我真的还想再活五百年).
I’m willing to be a vegetarian for the rest of my life (信女愿一生吃素) — Allusion to a meme inspired by the popular historical drama Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传). A screenshot of this line, being said by an empress as she makes the Buddhist pledge for lifelong vegetarianism in return for the imminent death of the emperor, has been shared online.
Animal Farm (动物庄园)
N — While the letter “N” was temporarily blocked from being posted, as of 14:27 PST on February 26, it was no longer banned. At Language Log, Victor Mair speculates that this term was blocked “probably out of fear on the part of the government that “N” = “n terms in office”, where possibly n > 2.”
for life system (终身制)
emigrate (移民) — Following the news, Baidu searches for the word reportedly saw a massive spike.
Xi JinP (习近P)
disagree (不同意)
incapable ruler (昏君)
Zhang Xun (张勋) — A Qing loyalist and supporter of Yuan Shikai who in 1917 attempted to restore the abdicated Qing Emperor Puyi.
take the yellow gown (黄袍加身)
Yuan Big Head (袁大头) — A silver dollar bearing Yuan Shikai’s face that became the staple Chinese currency in the early half of the 20th century.
1984
Winnie the Pooh (小熊维尼) — Images of Winnie the Pooh have been used to mock Xi Jinping since as early as 2013. The animated bear continues to be sensitive in China. Weibo users shared a post from Disney’s official account that showed Pooh hugging a large pot of honey along with the caption “find the thing you love and stick with it.”

[Crantag]

It's pretty funny how much wining has gone on about how China placing superficial impediments on accessing Twitter and Facebook is a supposed affront to freedom (what is probably the main catalyst is what it means for the profits of these companies to be restricted from the Chinese market).

Fast forward a little, and the US has a demagogue president who utilizes Twitter as his preferred means of communication with the masses, and it has come out that Facebook has been utilized as a political weapon of massive profiling as well as of mass distraction, including--at least by the official narrative--as a preferred means of agents representing Russia to interfere with American political discourse.

I just feel these sorts of things are worthy of considering.

(With respect to Google, Facebook and Twitter; these are also well known surveillance implements used by the US government. Of course, this much is also typically lost in the prevailing narratives.)

[AFAIK]

I fully support that decision.
The Rulers of that country have to decide what is best for their people.
As you see it is perfectly possible to express thoughts without the use of that letter.

10 demerits.