Murong Xuecun in The Guardian:
After three years as a censor, Liu detests his job. He detests the white office ceiling, the grey industrial carpet and the office that feels more like a factory. He also detests his 200-odd colleagues sitting in their cubicles, each concentrating on their mouse and keyboard as they delete or hide content.
One afternoon, the office boredom is disturbed when Chen Min* in the next cubicle suddenly jumps up, limbs flailing ecstatically. He has uncovered Wang Dan’s Weibo account. All the censors know that Wang Dan, one of the 1989 student leaders, political criminal and exile, is considered by the Chinese government to be one of the most important enemies of the state. Finding him is a big deal, and the news is immediately reported to the Sina Weibo office in Beijing. It might even be reported to the public security bureau.
The following month, a senior manager comes specially from Beijing to highly commend Chen Min for discovering intelligence about the “enemy”, praising his “acuity” and “high level of awareness”, and bestows on him a small bonus. All his colleagues applaud and shout in admiration. All except Liu.
More here.
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