Soy sauce delegate

酱油委员 (jiàngyóu wěiyuán): soy sauce committee members

Derived from the phrase “get soy sauce.” One who is “getting soy sauce” is just a spectator, listening without making substantive comments or contributions.

Many Chinese citizens have complained that the structure and bloated size of the National People’s Congress (around 3,000 members) render most of its members powerless. Many proposals are supported by over 99% of the votes cast.

During the 2011 Two Sessions, people dubbed committee members who did nothing besides apply their rubber stamp “soy sauce representatives.” This video references “soy sauce representatives” who either do nothing or who “just sit around on the toilet waiting for inspiration to come to them” (“坐在马桶上异想天开出来的”).

中文 Chinese Definition: 酱油委员，指的是在在全国“两会”上，顶着代表委员的帽子，在可以发出声音的地方只带耳朵不带嘴巴只会举手不会表态，不敢于代表人民发表建议意见的人，就像网络流行语“我是来打酱油的”。没有提案的委员，能起到什么作用？网友直接称之为“酱油委员”。