Making Fun of Foreign Leaders in the Chinese Cyberspace: Understanding Zhihu Users’ Political Entertainment in Assigning Posthumous Names to U.S. Presidents

Abstract

Growing up in an era of rapid socioeconomic development, China’s younger population is viewed by older generations and political theorists as “somewhat paradoxical” in that they are active and skillful in self-expression but apparently accommodative of the prevailing political authoritarianism. This paper presents a case study of how young Chinese internet users draw on their knowledge of Chinese dynastic history to comment on U.S. politics. We question the contention of contemporary scholars that Chinese youth use political entertainment as an alternative means of political participation, arguing instead for a more nuanced relationship between political entertainment and authoritarianism. In the context of the close surveillance of the Internet by the Chinese government, making foreign politicians targets of critique or humor is a relatively safe outlet for the passion of Chinese youth for online political comment. Chinese youth look to the internet for entertainment and as a space for political discussion and criticism, and the Chinese government is willing to tolerate these forms of harmless entertainment for the legitimation of its power. By characterizing the roles of young internet users’ political entertainment and party-state surveillance as mutually supportive, this article sheds new light on some intriguing aspects of contemporary Chinese society.