Master Kang
来自China Digital Space
康师傅 (Kāng Shīfu) Master Kang
Nickname for Zhou Yongkang, former public security chief and close ally of fallen Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai. Despite media reports that placing Zhou at the center of a massive government corruption probe in August 2013, the official government narrative still holds Zhou in good grace. Netizens refer to the retired Politburo Standing Committee member as “Master Kang” in the midst of censorship directives forbidding such discussion.
The name “Master Kang” is simultaneously a historical, political, and pop cultural reference. Kang Shifu (康师傅 Kāng Shīfu) is the brand name used by packaged food company Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corporation, the largest instant noodle producer operating in mainland China. When “Master Kang” is blocked from Weibo search results, netizens resort to calling Zhou “instant noodles” (方便面 fāngbiànmiàn). Tingyi markets their products under the English name Master Kong.
Master Kang also alludes to Kang Sheng (康生), Zhou’s early predecessor as security chief. A first generation official and close ally to Mao Zedong, Kang was posthumously disgraced and expelled from the Party for his role in the Cultural Revolution and his early criticism of Deng Xiaoping.
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