With their big blue blinking eyes and their quirky personal websites, there is no denying the cuteness of the cartoon cops at the front line of China’s battle for control of the internet.
But the role played by Jingjing and Chacha, the animated online icons recently introduced by police in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen, is entirely serious.
The cartoon couple patrol the city’s news and discussion websites to scare off anyone who might be tempted to use online anonymity to break China’s laws, says Chen Minli, director of the Shenzhen City Public Security Bureau’s Internet Surveillance Centre.
"Jingjing and Chacha." Jeez, it sounds like names at a panda exhibit.
Why, here are the lil' cuties now:
Here's a clear response message I'd like to see spread across China:
Why not join me in sending a copy of these symbols of repression getting their just deserts to the Chinese government , along with the message "Death to Jingjing and Chacha"?
Who knows? Maybe these new mascots will find their way into the hands of some liberty dissidents and give them some ideas. Perhaps if this--or similar graphics--makes its way around, it'll turn up on Google-China image searches that aren't filtered to suppress the terms "Jingjing" and "Chacha."
And perhaps, some day, the haughtiness will be gone from the wretched, imperious Chen Minli. Perhaps her arrogance will be replaced by guilty trembling as a citizen tribunal judges her for crimes against liberty...
Tags: Jingjing, Chacha, China, Internet