Temporary worker

临时工 (línshígōng): temporary worker

A temporary worker shields permanent employees from investigation. (Source: 蔣跃新/Xinhua)

Whomever they may be, these workers are often used as a convenient scapegoat by officials. For example, when several sponsors of the The Backbone Award withdrew their money in 2011, they claimed their support had been granted through documents forged by “temporary workers.” In January 2013, one netizen quipped that Beijing’s two million propaganda workers “outside the system” must be temporary workers.

Example:

Shengzhongjiacishishangshenghuoguan (@盛中家瓷时尚生活馆): Chengguan officials are indeed cruel! Whenever something goes wrong they blame it on the temporary workers. (June 7, 2015)

管城就是狠！一出事就说临时工 [Chinese]

“It was the temporary worker who forged these.” (source unknown)

An official leaves a trail of temporary workers’ vests as he flees the scene of his crime. (source unknown)