Public anger has grown in China lately over rampant corruption and the phenomenon of the “naked official,” the corruption government official who has managed to send his family members and (probably ill-gotten) assets overseas. The English-language Global Times reported recently that Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has worked to establish an anti-corruption network among its member nations to help deal with the “trans-boundary effects of corruption”. In the following cartoon, posted anonymously to Sina Weibo and shared widely by celebrity users like writer Li Chengpeng (李承鹏) before being deleted by web censors, corrupt officials in black suits rip apart the ship of state to construct their own private escape rafts, causing the nation to sink. Li Chengpeng wrote of the cartoon in his deleted post: “I’d like to know who drew this, and what it is titled. I found this on Weibo, and some people had called it “Leaving China”. I’ve given it the title, “The Ocean Journey Requires Cutting Away” (大海航行靠切割). Is there a better title? This cartoon says more than a three-volume novel series.”


David Bandurski

CMP Director

Latest Articles