Policeman to Tesla driver: “It Is a Bit Ridiculous, But You Must Obey”
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9月1日，杭州高架禁止特斯拉通行。
— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) September 1, 2023
车主吐槽“这有点搞笑了呀”
交警回复“是有点搞笑但是你要服从” pic.twitter.com/z7Tm7cN1Yi
The text says:
9 yuè 1 rì, Hángzhōu gāojià jìnzhǐ Tèsīlā tōngxíng.
Chēzhǔ tǔcáo “Zhè yǒudiǎn gǎoxiàole ya”.
Jiāojǐng huífù “Shì yǒudiǎn gǎoxiào dànshì nǐ yào fúcóng.
9月1日，杭州高架禁止特斯拉通行。
车主吐槽“这有点搞笑了呀”
交警回复“是有点搞笑但是你要服从”
On September 1, a Tesla was banned from passing through the Hangzhou Elevated Highway.
The car owner complained, "This is a bit funny."
The traffic policeman replied, "It's a bit funny, but you have to obey".
The operative word is "gǎoxiào 搞笑" ("funny; hilarious; amusing; joking; kidding; making a joke"). It's as though the Tesla driver said, "You must be kidding / joking").
Excellent news coverage here:
"Word(s) of the Week: 'It Is a Bit Ridiculous, But You Must Obey'”
Posted by Alexander Boyd
China Digital Times (Sept. 5, 2023)
Questions of complicity, why Tesla was targeted, and other sensitive issues are covered.
Selected readings
- "BYD — the look and the sound" (2/16/23)
- "AI panics" (11/27/16) — this comment
[Thanks to Don Keyser]
AntC said,
September 6, 2023 @ 5:14 pm
Thank you Prof Mair.
TBH I would never drive a Tesla anywhere. Call me prejudiced against vehicles liable to explode in a ball of fire; also against exploiting Chinese slave labour; also against arrogant a***holes. That the vehicles are collecting data about me and returning it I know not where seems another excellent reason. (But yeah, weird that even PRC doesn't trust them.)
Neoccpdee said,
September 7, 2023 @ 7:37 am
The real identity of this twitter account has drawn the attention of the famous popular science writer and muckraker, Fang Zhouzi / Fang Shimin:
https://twitter.com/fangshimin/status/1672024507757002752
In short, Fang suspects that this 李老师不是你老师 is somehow related, controlled, supported or endorsed by the CCP.
Philip Anderson said,
September 8, 2023 @ 7:38 am
We might describe such a rule as funny in English too, but funny-peculiar not funny-haha.