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Official Seal for Hire

According to a recent news report by South City News, a commercial spin-off of the official Jiangxi Daily, posted to Xinhua Online, authorities at a residential committee office in Jiangxi’s Wuyuan County (婺源县) have been routinely applying their official government seal to any document so long as residents pay 10 yuan per stamp. In the […]

According to a recent news report by South City News, a commercial spin-off of the official Jiangxi Daily, posted to Xinhua Online, authorities at a residential committee office in Jiangxi’s Wuyuan County (婺源县) have been routinely applying their official government seal to any document so long as residents pay 10 yuan per stamp. In the wake of media reports, authorities in the county said relevant responsible persons have been questioned about the matter. In the following cartoon, posted by the Kunming-based studio Yuan Jiao Man’s Space (圆觉漫时空) to QQ.com, citizens line up before the local residential office and pass 10 yuan bills into a slot while a black figure inside wearing an official cap signifying his government role grins malevolently, bearing the official government seal in his hand. Behind him stand stacks of bills.

David Bandurski

CMP Director

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