In August 2021, following the celebration of the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary the previous month, there was a noticeable decline in the frequency of many key CCP slogans in the People’s Daily. As the Tokyo Olympics came to a close in August, Chinese also began paying greater attention to the private lives of China’s athletes. The “one jump to global fame” (一跳成名天下知) achieved by Chinese diver Quan Hongchan (全红婵) caused netizens to express both happiness and heartbreak for the 14-year-old athlete, who was showered with attention and gifts that proved disruptive to her and her family.  

At mid-month, remarks from Dr. Zhang Wenhong (张文宏), a top infectious disease specialist from Shanghai’s Fudan University, about the country learning to “co-exist with the virus” (和病毒共存) prompted “gravedigging style” (挖坟式) investigations online of his academic record and qualifications. “Gravedigging,” or wafen (挖坟), is an online neologism that refers to the practice of seeking out and re-posting or c…