Name of World's Largest Municipality Censored on China's Twitter

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We think that's an image of Chongqing's skyline

Shhhh…don’t type that name! “Chongqing” (重庆, which literally means “double celebration”), is currently not searchable on either the Sina or Tencent versions of China’s Twitter-like Weibo platforms. It is searchable on Sohu Weibo, which perhaps merely proves China’s government no longer much cares about Sohu Weibo.

For the uninitiated, Chongqing is the city whose Party Secretary, Bo Xilai, has recently been implicated in a staggering scandal (see here for TLN’s recent coverage) with implications reaching to the highest levels of the Chinese government. His ouster has spurred discussion whether his neo-Maoist “Chongqing model” is itself endangered.

But China’s censors may have gone a bit too far this time, blocking all searches involving the name of what is, by some measures, the world’s largest municipality. Searching for chatter on the best hotels in Chongqing? No results. Searching for restaurants? Tours? Pics? No, no, and no. Try again when China’s political environment is less sensitive.  

Tea Leaf Nation gets dinged searching for "Chongqing"

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