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The Rebels Can Do Nothing

Zhao Gao told the Second Emperor of Qin that a young ruler should not settle matters with his ministers in open court. Any mistake would show his weakness to them. So the emperor stayed inside the palace and decided everything with Zhao Gao. “After that, the high ministers were rarely received.”

Zhao Gao said several times that “the rebels east of the pass can do nothing.” Then Xiang Yu captured the Qin general Wang Li, and most of the east rose against Qin. When the emperor sent word blaming him for the rebellion, Zhao Gao was afraid. (Records of the Grand Historian)

Launching Satellites

On June 8, 1958, People’s Daily reported that five mu of wheat at the Satellite Agricultural Cooperative in Suiping, Henan, had yielded an average of 2,105 jin per mu. Four days later, it reported a “second satellite” from the same cooperative, at more than 3,500 jin. Such record yields became known as fang weixing (放卫星), launching satellites. By late September, the highest rice figure, from Huanjiang in Guangxi, was 130,435 jin per mu.

In November 1958, a report to the Party Center put the year’s grain harvest at about 850 billion jin. The provinces had already cut the figures reported by prefectures and counties generally by ten to thirty percent. The report said that the overall estimate must not be shaken “because of a few cases of false and inflated reporting and some shortcomings and errors.”

Falsified Data in Liaoning

In January 2017, the government work report of Liaoning province stated: “The cities and counties under Liaoning province falsified fiscal data in the period from 2011 to 2014.” (辽宁省所辖市、县在2011-2014年期间存在财政数据造假)

A 2018 report in Yicai, citing People’s Daily, said that the inflated figures came to nearly 20 percent of fiscal revenue over that period. According to the same report, Liaoning’s general budget revenue fell by 33.4 percent in 2015.

Sincerely Accept, Resolutely Obey

On April 10, 2021, Alibaba responded to a fine of 18.228 billion yuan: “We sincerely accept it and resolutely obey.” (诚恳接受，坚决服从) In October 2021, Meituan was fined 3.442 billion yuan. Its response read: “Sincerely accept, resolutely implement.” It said that it would examine itself fully and make corrections, and would take the case as a warning.

Received

In Chinese work chats, a common reply to a message from a leader is shoudao (收到), “received.” In December 2023, the business site Jiemian quoted an office worker: “Do not reply OK to a leader. Reply ‘received’ or ‘all right.’ That is better.”

A worker also told Jiemian: “When I reply ‘received,’ it means I know. It does not necessarily mean I will do it.”

Secret Memorials

Under the Kangxi Emperor, a new kind of report came into use, the palace memorial (奏折). An official could send it secretly and directly to the emperor. It went around the cabinet and did not pass through the Office of Transmission.

In the later years of the Kangxi reign, the circle of officials allowed to send them widened step by step. Through these secret reports, Chinese Wikipedia writes, the emperor kept control of the whole picture.

Bian Que and Duke Huan

The physician Bian Que told Duke Huan of Cai: “Your Lordship has an illness in the skin. If it is not treated, it may go deeper.” “I have no illness,” said the duke. When Bian Que left, the duke said: “Doctors like to treat people who are not ill, to take the credit.” Twice more Bian Que warned him, and twice the duke did not answer. The fourth time, Bian Que saw him and ran.

The illness had reached the marrow. Five days later, the duke was in pain and sent for Bian Que, who had already fled. The story is in the Han Feizi. It gave the idiom 讳疾忌医, to hide an illness and avoid the doctor, and in a wider sense to cover up faults and fear criticism.

Painting the Hills Green

In 2019, media reported that mines of Shandong Changsheng Mining in Xintai, Shandong, had painted the rocks around a stone-processing plant green. According to the reports, the aim was to get through environmental inspections and to deceive satellite monitoring.

Leaders’ Written Instructions

In Chinese government, a leader’s short written comment on a report or document is called a pishi (批示), a written instruction. It turns the document into a task for the people below.

In 2016, Xi Jinping wrote such an instruction on the study of Mao Zedong’s essay on the working methods of Party committees. The Central Organization Department then issued a notice to carry it out. According to the Party’s news site, the instruction set clear requirements for every member of every Party leadership team, and especially for its principal leaders.

The SARS Dismissals

On April 3, 2003, Health Minister Zhang Wenkang said that SARS was under control and that Beijing had only 12 cases and 3 deaths. On April 20, Beijing’s reported number of cases jumped from 37 to 339. Hours after that press conference, the Party Center and the State Council removed Zhang and the mayor of Beijing, Meng Xuenong, from their Party posts.

Meng resigned as mayor, taking responsibility for the failure (引咎辞职). Five years later, as governor of Shanxi, he resigned again after a tailings dam collapse in Xiangfen.