CDT has translated a selection of Chinese political jokes that have been making the rounds on social media. These jokes all poke fun at China’s so-called core socialist values, a set of 12 words used by the CCP to promote socialism with Chinese characteristics. It consists of the words “prosperity,” “democracy,” “civility,” “harmony,” “freedom,” “equality,” “justice,” “rule of law,” “patriotism,” “dedication,” “integrity,” and “friendliness.” These core values were initially promoted as an important party doctrine at the 18th National Congress in 2012. A national campaign has since been launched to encourage all of society to embrace the 12 values.

@jun008weibo: One day, a young Chinese cyber-nationalist who wanted to express his patriotism decided to make 12 t-shirts, each printed with one of the 12 words that make up the socialist core values. The plan was to wear one shirt per day in sequence…He was arrested on the second day.

The second joke refers to characters from the classic “Journey to the West,” including the pig Zhu Baijie:

一天，唐僧看到八戒在读书，颇为感动，

走到八戒身边问道 : 八戒呀，读什么书呢？

八戒 : 我最近在读社会主义核心价值观呢，二十四个字总是记不住。

唐僧 : 那是天书，你读不懂，你就记住爱国两个字即可。

八戒 : 那其他的就不用记了吗？

唐僧 : 其他的记住了，你就不是猪了。 pic.twitter.com/D11FE3S7F4 — 李 庆 (@egh0mrwAWa1FQZA) August 24, 2019

@egh0mrwAWa1FQZA: One day, monk Tang Sanzang was very moved when he saw Zhu Bajie reading a book. Monk Tang walked up to Bajie and asked: What are you reading? Bajie replied: I have recently started reading the core values of socialism. There are twenty-four words but I just can’t memorize them. Monk Tang: That is a book for the gods. You won’t be able to understand it. All you have to do is to remember the word “patriotism.” Bajie: Does that mean I don’t have to remember the rest? Monk Tang: You wouldn’t be a pig if you remembered the rest.