Stable bottom

wěn dìng 稳腚

The stable bottom of the government. (Artist: Thomas Y.C. Wong @鳩鵪亞黃)

Homophone of "stability" (wěndìng 稳定), a pretest for censorship and control.

Starting with former president Hu Jintao, the Communist Party has gone to great lengths to "maintain stability" domestically. Using this rationale, protests are squelched, political dissidents controlled, and media censored.

Netizens joke that the only thing "maintaining stability" are the sears of the leadership on the throne of power. "If you want social stability," a netizen once wrote, "officials can't have 'stable bottoms'" (要想社会稳定，官员不能“稳腚”).

See also stability maintenance.