Hu 77

胡77 (hú 77): Hu 77

This is a reference to Hu Jintao. On December 30, 2010, CCTV repeatedly broadcast a conversation Hu had with a mother and daughter while Hu was visiting a housing project in Beijing. Hu asked the two how much they paid in rent every month and if they were able to manage paying that amount. The mother answered that their rent was 77 Yuan (approximately USD$11.00) and added, “We’re able to manage [paying the rent] thanks to the good policies of the Party and of the government.” See this portion of the broadcast here.

Netizens, astounded by, and very much skeptical of, the woman’s answer gathered to watch as this news blurb went viral on the internet. (Some netizens claimed that housing prices in that complex would be more like 2000 yuan.)

Housing prices in China have risen dramatically over the last decade. In 2005, the real estate group Home Link found that the median price of housing was 9.4 times the annual income of the average Beijing household, twice what the World Bank considers affordable in a developing country. Since 2005 housing prices have continued to outpace inflation leading many to consider themselves "mortgage slaves" forced to live in “snail dwellings”.

As housing prices have soared the government has been loudly criticized for not doing more to cool the housing market. This news segment was very obviously designed to deflect that criticism; it begins and ends by saying that helping people find affordable housing is a top priority of the government and suggests (perhaps falsely) that housing prices are quite reasonable. Like other colossal failures of CCTV propaganda (see very erotic, very violent and disturbed), when netizens perceive they are being fed a lie, the propaganda has the opposite effect.

12月30日官方喉舌央视反覆播放了一条新闻，各大媒体同时转载，2010年末中共总书记 胡冒严寒看望基层民众体察民生，在朝阳区管庄路保障性住房常营项目的丽景园小 区内，一户二室44平方米的廉住房内，涛与一对母女对白“一个月租金多少？能不 能承担得起？”“一个月77块，承担得起，感谢党和政府的好政策”引起广大网友的迅 速围观，并被当成笑料。

After this event, netizens created a number of parodies using the number 77. Several of these are translated below:

涛哥来到河大视察，在校门口碰到了李刚。涛哥轻轻的拉着李局长的手，亲切的同他拉起了家常:“你儿子一年撞多少次人？能不能承受的起？” 李刚说：“我儿子一年只撞77次人, 承受的起。” 涛哥露出了欣慰的笑容。

The Chairman went to visit Henan University. At the entrance to the school he ran into Li Gang. Brother Hu gently touched his arm. Kindly striking up a conversation, Hu asked, “Every year how many people does your son hit with his car; are you able to manage it?” “Every year my son only hits 77 people and I am able to manage it.” Brother Hu gave a comforting smile.

主席到深圳罗湖口岸海关视察。涛哥轻轻抚摸着海关人员的手，亲切地拉起了家常。“你们每人每天要没收ipad多少部啊？良心能承受得起么？”“每天77次，还能承受得起。”涛哥露出了欣慰的笑容。

The Chairman [of the Communist Party, Hu Jintao] went to visit customs agents along the border. Brother Hu gently touched the hand of a customs agent. Kindly striking up a conversation, Hu asked, “How many iPads do you confiscate every day; is your conscience able to manage it?” “Every day we confiscate 77 and our consciences can manage it.” Brother Hu gave a comforting smile.

炸药奖主席访问涛哥，拉着涛哥手问：＂中国还有多少空椅子？能不能承受的起？＂，涛哥回答＂大概还有77个，能承受的起＂，炸药奖主席露出了欣慰的笑容。

The Chairman of the Dynamite* Prize Committee went to visit Brother Hu. Grasping Hu’s hand he asked, “How many more empty chairs does China have. Is China able to manage?” Brother Hu responded, “It still has about 77, and we’re able to manage. The Dynamite Prize Committee Chairman gave a comforting smile.

• This is a referece to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. Alfed Nobel invented dynamite.

Crowds gather to marvel at the advertised housing to be rented at the incredibly low rate of 77 Yuan.