Stability maintenance

维稳 (wéiwěn): stability maintenance

A local official tells a policeman, “It must be stabilized!” The roots of the tree of social stability are “the welfare of the people.”

Hand-in-hand with Hu Jintao’s policy to promote “a harmonious society” was an increasing focus on “maintaining stability.” According to the New York Times, the Chinese government budgeted US$111 billion for social stability maintenance in 2012, US$5 billion more than the military budget.

Netizens have have poked fun at the central government's commitment to stability maintenance. For example:

When Titanic was first shown on the mainland in 1998, the scene where a naked Rose let Jack sketch her was left alone. Then why was that scene deleted from 2012 screenings? The State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) has finally provided an explanation: “Considering the unique aspects of 3-D movies, we were concerned that when the movie is shown members of the audience would try to reach out and touch, which would result in unnecessary disputes with those seated in front of them. Given our concerns about maintaining stability, we have decided to delete this scene.”

1998年大陆上映的【泰坦尼克号】保留了Rose裸身让Jack作画的情节，而2012年上映时为何被删除？近日广电总局终于对此给出了解释：“考虑到3D电影的特殊性，总局担心，播放该片段时可能出现观众试图伸手触摸而打到前排观众的头，造成不必要的纠纷。出于维稳考虑，决定删除此片段。”

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences scholar Yu Jianrong has argued that China's commitment to “stability at all costs” is misguided and unsustainable.

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