Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Blocked on Weibo: What Gets Suppressed on China s Version of Twitter (and Why) Paperback – August 27, 2013
As Ng explains, Weibo (roughly the equivalent of Twitter), with over 500 million registered accounts, censors hundreds of words and phrases, ranging from fairly obvious terms, including "tank" (a reference to the "Tank Man" who stared down the Chinese army in Tiananmen Square) and the names of top government officials (if they can't be found online, they can't be criticized), to deeply obscure references, including "hairy bacon" (a coded insult referring to Mao's embalmed body).
With dozens of phrases that could get a Chinese Internet user invited to the local police station "for a cup of tea" (a euphemism for being detained by the authorities), Blocked on Weibo offers an invaluable guide to sensitive topics in modern-day China as well as a fascinating tour of recent Chinese history.
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThe New Press
- Publication dateAugust 27, 2013
- Dimensions5.4 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
- ISBN-109781595588715
- ISBN-13978-1595588715
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Editorial Reviews
Review
"It's an engaging new volume chock full of illuminating, sometimes amusing entries on temporarily or permanently banned terms."
―Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor's Professor of History, University of California, Irvine
"This is a fascinating study with important implications for anyone who is interested in the intellectual and political climate of contemporary China. Highly recommended."
―Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania
"What makes his blog―and the book it has now spawned―so attractive is Ng's wit and erudition. Some entries in this Devil's Dictionary for digital times are simply descriptive, but many open surprising windows onto the wonderfully creative strategies Chinese internet users employ to circumvent blocks."
―Times Literary Supplement
Praise for the Blocked on Weibo blog that inspired the book:
"Blocked on Weibo is interesting for those with any knowledge of China and its Internet space, right from beginners to old hands."
―Jon Russell, The Next Web
"Censorship nerds: check out Blocked on Weibo, an amazingly useful blog on what's blocked in China and why."
―Andrew McLaughlin, VP of Tumblr, and former White House deputy chief technology officer
"A treasure."
―Thomson Reuters
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 159558871X
- Publisher : The New Press (August 27, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781595588715
- ISBN-13 : 978-1595588715
- Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,395,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,084 in Social Media Guides
- #2,507 in Censorship & Politics
- #7,031 in Asian Politics
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
The book is structured with a blocked word on each page, followed by an explanation of it's meaning and why it was blocked on Weibo (Chinese twitter).
My favorite portion of the books is the detailed explanation of the meaning of the block words which can be both insightful and comical. Who knew Mao Ze Dong is also known as Hairy Bacon?!
The book puts much emphasis on the dynamism of term blocking on Weibo (the largest Chinese version of Twitter), with an appendix at the back that shows what terms that were blocked when the author did his first research in 2012 and whether the terms were still blocked as the book was going to press. Jason Ng is very clear about how he went about choosing the terms, and this is one of those books where some of the chapter end notes are as interesting -- perhaps more interesting -- than the text itself. Finally, recognizing that China is not the only country that censors the Internet, the author does a good job contextualizing the Chinese system with Internet censorship elsewhere in the world (and Internet monitoring as well).
Top reviews from other countries
Easy to understand and very interesting. Very good read

