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18th Party Congress
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'Sparta' a good foil for Communist Party congress critics

Raymond Li

The ancient Greek city state of Sparta has given mainlanders an innovative way of venting their discontent over the Communist Party's 18th national congress without being snared by the online police.

The Chinese word for Sparta, which sounds similar to the shorthand name of the congress (), has become a catchword for netizens when referring to the over-the-top security in Beijing and the barrage of pre-congress propaganda.

Sparta has also gained currency because some have likened the preparations to the 2008 parody film , a spin-off of the 2007 Hollywood blockbuster .

"I've almost gone Sparta (collapsed)!" has become one phrase commonly used online.

Some have said that referring to the party congress as Sparta in cyberspace is justified by the similarity between the political system depicted in and the authoritarian, one-party state. The film's catchphrase, "this is Sparta!", has become "this is the 18th party congress!".

Security preparations were put into overdrive weeks ahead of the congress, including a ban on the sale of kitchen knives.

While discussion of the party congress on social media sites has been strictly policed, with searches for "18th congress" yielding no results, internet users have still been able to get around the censors by using euphemistic references linked to ancient legends and fables.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: It's all Greek to those evading online police
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