Dedicate a chrysanthemum with deep feeling

深情献菊花 (shēnqíng xiàn júhuā): dedicate a chrysanthemum with deep feeling

Hu Jintao dedicating a white chrysanthemum to victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

The Xinhua headline, as syndicated by the China Youth Daily.

This phrase comes from a Xinhua headline widely syndicated in the Chinese press. When Hu Jintao visited a memorial to the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake one year after the disaster, he dedicated a white chrysanthemum, the traditional flower of mourning. Xinhua ran a report on the event, over which the headline read “Hu Jintao, with deep feeling, bowed and dedicated a chrysanthemum” (胡锦涛深情俯身献菊花 Hú Jǐntāo shénqīng fǔshén xiàn júhuā). Unfortunately for Xinhua, the phrase “dedicate a chrysanthemum” has homosexual connotations in Chinese slang. Thus, without too far a stretch of the imagination, the headline could be interpreted, “Hu Jintao, with deep feeling, bent over and engaged in a homosexual act.” Netizens quickly circulated the headline, raising the ire of online censors. Xinhua quickly changed the headline, and searches on Baidu yielded a statement that the requested content may not be in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Baidu notice that the search result for the headline may not be in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

There have been a number of other headlines (too embarrassing to translate) with sexual readings that slipped past the editors of major newspapers:

1.莱昂纳多与女友恋情告吹，只因对方逼太紧。（新浪）

2.放松操，让女兵笑容更灿烂（解放军报）

3.三大全国性交易市场布局渝中（重庆晨报）

4.干了112天终于湿了（南方都市报）