Frisbee Hu

飞盘胡 (Fēipán Hú): Frisbee Hu

“Frisbee Hu” was re-popularized during the Southern Weekly protests of January 2013. Weibo user 青媒素 quipped on January 8 about “that cruel moment when the dog nabs the Frisbee”--when Hu Xijin tows the Party line.

Nickname for Hu Xijin, chief editor of the state-run newspaper Global Times. Hu is renowned for taking a positive spin on whatever facts the government throws him. Hu earned his nickname amid the fallout of the Bo Xilai scandal for an editorial titled “Bo’s Case Shows Resilience of Rule of Law.” Netizens were scornful of the attempt to find a silver lining in the scandal, wondering why, if the rule of law was so resilient in China, Bo was not questioned earlier for a pattern of alleged misconduct that stretched over decades.