China’s National Day holiday is meant to be a time for celebration — and also for a good deal of propaganda about the glories of the Chinese Communist Party, the unity of the people, and all-around prosperity, equality and good feeling. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that censors on popular social media platforms like Weibo worked around the clock to ensure that dissenting voices, or just plaintive ones, were tucked out of view.
The following post by Weibo user Wen Jinrang was available for more than a day before being cut down by censors on the platform. It remarks on reports that some local authorities in China have ordered the National Day holiday, often referred to as “golden week,” shortened in order to prepare for the upcoming 19th National Congress of the CCP.
Reports this week have said that the National Day holiday was cancelled altogether China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, reportedly out of fears that residents might use the break from school and work to launch protests ahead of next month’s congress.

USER: Wen Jinrang (汶金让)
DATE OF POST: September 30, 2017, 12:28:44
APPROXIMATE TIME OF REMOVAL: October 1, 2017, 15:14:37
CONTENT: 
For the eight-day National Day holiday, some places have issued certain orders and notices saying that only five days of holiday are permitted. . . This is just the way things are in China. A legally set holiday, and local [authorities] can just eliminate it with a single word. That’s the National Day holiday! What a great National Day, one long lament! [hurt]
国庆8天假,某地某办发通知,只准休5天,最后3天精准扶贫!中国的事情就是这样,法定假日,地方一句话就可以废了,这就是国情!好好的国庆,一片哀叹![伤心] ​

 

An image of the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing and the words, “Happy National Day on October 1.”
 
 
 
 


CMP Staff

The China Media Project

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