One of the mainland's biggest events for grass-roots bloggers has been cancelled for the first time in its six-year history because no landlord in Shanghai dared provide a venue for the annual conference, which was scheduled to open today.
By yesterday afternoon, at least three landlords who had initially agreed to let out conference rooms or had accepted deposits for venues said they were unable to provide premises for the event.
The China Blogger Conference, which began in Shanghai six years ago, was planned for Shanghai Jiao Tong University this year, but organisers had also contacted other institutes, including Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and its service centre for student employment, as back-up options.
Conference organisers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the failure to find a venue to pressure from the authorities, though none had seen any official order banning the conference. One organiser said all universities in Shanghai had been warned not to provide a venue.
The website of the China Blogger Conference displayed one sentence in yellow characters over a yellow background yesterday which could not be seen without pressing particular keys. 'The grass mud horse has been harmonised,' it said, in a reference to the central government's policy of fostering 'social harmony'.
Many mainland internet users characterise themselves as 'grass mud horses' - a homonym for the phrase **** your mother which internet users have embraced as a symbol of their fight against policies that infringe on personal freedom.
A party and reception for people attending the conference at a restaurant today was also cancelled after its organiser was threatened.