Push-ups proving popular in China

For a while the phrase 'push-up' has become a code word to skirt the automated keyword blocking tools which the Chinese authorities use to keep tabs on the online world.

Chinese blogs are apparently full of the innocent phase "I'm just doing push-ups" which actually has another meaning.

Last month three youths walked free from a police station after being accused of the rape and drowning of 15-year-old schoolgirl Li Shufe.

There was a riot when it was believed that the three had got away with the murder because they were related to Communist Party officials.

It turned out to be all untrue, but the way that officialdom handled the case made a lot of bloggers very angry.

Police claimed that one of the accused had earlier talked the girl out of jumping off the bridge but after midnight, while still on the bridge, he started doing push-ups and as he was doing the third one he heard the girl cry: "I leave ", followed by a splash.

Apparently people registered push-up domain names and created push-up ringtones. There is even a craze for photoshopped images of a famous TV host doing naked push-ups at famous Chinese landmarks.

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