Forums buzzing about Hu Jintao and the Spring Festival Gala

Comments on a QQ forum

Here are four topics that have caused debates and comments from the BBS community online:

1. “Don’t sway back and forth, relax our efforts or get sidetracked.”

Yesterday was the official date set for the 30th anniversary of the opening up and reform policies. President Hu Jintao said in his eulogy at the Great Hall of the People: “If we don’t sway back and forth, relax our efforts or get sidetracked, but firmly push forward the reform and opening up as well as adhere to socialism with Chinese characteristics, then this grand blueprint will definitely materialize.” The last of the three warnings, “don’t get sidetracked” – buyao zheteng （不要折腾), can be interpreted many different ways, including “don’t toss and turn” and “don’t do something over and over again (to little effect)”. On the People.com forum one called netizen wrote the following post:

This is a pet phrase of the common people, [Hu saying this] has moved and roused many people. This phrase is real and honest, and determined! “Don’t get sidetracked” is the a meaning of the people, and has voiced the wishes of the common people.

2. “Knock-off” Spring Festival Gala

One of Tianya’s extremely popular posts this week centers on the Shanzai Spring Festival Gala (山寨春晚). The literal meaning of shanzhai is made in a mountain village – hence not as good as the real thing, best translated as “knock-off,” as in, a “knock-off” iPhone. Now it has extended to the Shanzhai Spring Festival Gala (山寨春晚).

Tianya.cn conducted an online survey, where 11,904 people participated. 73.1% said they were happy about the knock-off Gala, and 44.8% said they don’t enjoy the traditional CCTV version. The survey conductors also went on to say that the shanzhai, more alternative and grassroots version will be a real competitor to the original and official one. One commenter, Firewood fish and peanuts congee, said, “Haven’t watched Spring Festival Gala for eleven years – but will watch it for the shanzhai version.”

3. Nanjing Rolex scandal

Nanjing disgrace

From the Daqi.com forum, which collected this post from Tianya.cn:

Director of Nanjing real estate bureau smokes 1,500 yuan cartons of cigarettes and wears Rolex: with diamond, 90,000 yuan, without diamond, 70,000 yuan.

Most of the comments were abuse, with rare commenters telling the rest to leave him alone. This post is related to one entitled “A certain Shanxi poverty-stricken county party committee official wears 50,000 yuan Rolex,” also from Tianya.cn.

4. Zhou Huimin and Ni Zhen’s dramatic relationship

Two decades of love

Zhou Huimin (周慧敏), Hong Kong’s famous beauty, and her ongoing love affair with other famous person and TV presenter Ni Zhen (倪震) has made most of the headlines of entertainment news this week. Ni Zhen had been having a series of affairs throughout their two decade relationship, and his latest – caught on camera sharing a “wet kiss” (湿吻) with a university student on December 8 – led to a very public break-up three days later, the contents of which was spread through the Chinese BBS world. But yesterday they announced the plan to get hitched.

iZaobao.com published a Special Commentary, citing Lian Yue, the popular advice columnist and blogger:

Thank you to them… from now breaking up does not mean thinking hard of what to say: bravely go off the rails, spread your legs, then take the blame. Makes me suddenly think of that incredibly original phrase from the beginning of 2008: “Very yellow, very violent.”

Lian Yue once said that the letters he received for his relationship advice column seemed always so hopeless and desperate, but the more he read the more hope he had, because he realized that love must be important if so many people are tortured by it… The man has put twenty years into getting with girls with his limited time, and the woman has come from the “Jade Maiden” of the past to the current desired maiden… Perhaps we should quote Darwin?

It has been an affair with comments ranging from support to abuse, but mostly of shock, since yesterday.