The truth is, the Chinese are about as clear as an average motherboard's manual. The government's guidelines for online news state that stories should be "healthy" and "in the public interest." Video and audio restrictions, meanwhile, require multimedia material to avoid damaging "China's culture or traditions." Calling the Communist party's tactics into question? Count your Web site out.

Since January, the sultans of censorship seem to have gone on a blocking binge, shuttering hundreds of sites both inside and outside of China. A busy blog hosting site and a political portal were among the entities recently hit with the "REJECTED" stamp.

Finding the Reason

What about China's newfound 'tude toward YouTube, then? I looked through the video site's most recent popular videos to find potential triggers for the sudden suppression. First, I thought the freshly favorited softcore pseudo-porn might have pushed the censors over the edge. But then I played it and realized the 50s-era cartoon-style music made the clip far too funny to be taken seriously.

Then I saw that had this week, and I thought surely that was the reason for the freezin'. After all, it offends nearly every possible sense. But come on -- who wouldn't at least let out a teensy chuckle at that jolly gentleman's awkward antics? Couldn't be it.