A recent report in People’s Forum magazine, published by China’s official People’s Daily newspaper, a recent study found that more than 70 percent of Chinese officials suffer from a condition known as “internet terror” (网络恐惧症). According to the study, the magazine reported, the condition is most acute among officials at the county (县级) and departmental (处级) levels. The condition is apparently an abiding fear on the part of Party and government officials that they might at any moment become the focus of an online campaign making their conduct a topic of national concern and ridicule. In this cartoon, posted by the Kunming-based studio Yuan Jiao Man’s Space (圆觉漫时空) to QQ.com, government officials (recognizable by the imperial-style official caps) cower and perspire with fear at a large computer screen over their heads, representing China’s vigilant masses of internet users, looms overhead.


David Bandurski

CMP Director

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