You might have heard ironic uses of the Chinese phrases "getting soy sauce,""doing push-ups," and "playing hidden cat," but the latest catchphrase to catch fire among China's Internet users just sounds wrong from the get-go: "Temporary rape."
The back story behind this term: In June, two men, then-employed as civilian police assistants in the city of Huzhou, Zhejiang province, sexually assaulted a young woman after having dinner and drinks with her. They were subsequently arrested, charged with rape, and tried by a local court, which last week sentenced each of the men to a three-year prison term. In explaining the relatively light sentences imposed, the court said the defendants had committed a "temporary crime on a whim" and had turned themselves in to police shortly afterwards, according to Zhejiang Online, a government-backed provincial news portal.
Critical Chinese Internet users soon delved into the meaning of "temporary" as used by the court. It "stands for informal and short-term behavior," wrote one online commenter. "So is there a difference between formal and informal, long-term and short-term when it comes to the crime of rape? ...What does it mean to describe a crime as temporary, fixed or permanent?"
Within a few days, "temporary rape" has become one of the most debated topics on the Internet. On Tianya, one of China's largest Web forums, one discussion of the case has drawn nearly 8,000 participants and garnered close to a million page views.
Chinese media also weighed in with sharply worded commentaries. "The various online catchphrases all convey the same anxiety about justice. A lack of trust in the judicial system always emerges through some individual cases that go beyond common sense," said an article in the Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News.
So far, the majority of the online posts and media opinions have taken a negative tone toward the court's reasoning. People are also adding "temporary" to other words to highlight the twisted logic involved. Examples include "temporary bribery taking," "temporary murder" and "temporary divorce, no asset separation."
In other cases, such as "playing hidden cat"--which emerged in connection with the death of a 24-year-old prisoner from a severe brain injury--the public attention generated through the widespread use of a single phrase has prompted authorities to conduct follow-up investigations and eventually punish those found responsible.
On Tuesday, Xinhua reported that a higher court in Huzhou has requested review of the rape case.
不会
O(∩_∩)O哈哈~