According to an article published on the Wall Street Journal,writing about fear and loath on the Chinese internet
"Mr. Pan, who boasts more than 16 million followers on Sina Corp.’s popular Twitter-like Weibo microblogging service, is typically a smooth-talker, whether in person or on camera. Facing a CCTV reporter’s question about the social responsibilities of influential Weibo users–known as “Big V’s” because a letter “v” marks their accounts as verified—Mr. Pan developed a sudden stutter.
“I-I-I I feel that ‘Big Vs’ — people with a lot of f-f-f-fans — should have even higher requirements of themselves, should have more d-d-discipline. You can’t be so c-c-casual,” Mr. Pan told his interviewer, punctuating each repeated syllable with a thrust of his hand as if to push the words out of his mouth (in Chinese).
The co-founder and chairman of real estate developer Soho China, Mr. Pan is one of a number of successful entrepreneurs who’ve earned large audiences online for their willingness to criticize the government. He has been particularly active on environmental issues. In 2011, he spearheaded what many regard as the clearest example of the power of social media to influence policy by the authoritarian state: a Weibo campaign that forced authorities in Beijing to finally release more accurate air-pollution data".
"The CCTV interview came amid a government campaign to gain control over the more freewheeling social media, particularly by putting pressure on influential social media users. This week, China’s highest court issued a judicial interpretation saying Internet users could face up to three-years in prison for posting rumors or slanderous content that attracts at least 5,000 hits or is reposted at least 500 times. Last month, CCTV gave big play to a story on Chinese-American Charles Xue, another Big V known as Xue Manzi, who was detained on suspicion of soliciting prostitutes in a case interpreted by many social media users as a warning to Big Vs .
Writing on Weibo, Mr. Pan admitted to being nervous about the interview, describing a phone conversation with another Big V who advised him to avoid it at all costs. “I said, ‘It’s too late, they’re already 20 meters away and walking toward me.’” Mr. Pan wrote (in Chinese), then he quoted his friend saying: “‘Then just tell them you think slander and creating rumors are shameful.’”
In keeping with tradition, Weibo users opted to respond to the sight of Mr. Pan’s skittishness with an outpouring of snark.
“Old Pan s-s-s-scared to death,” wrote legal scholar and prolific microblogger Xu Xin, who then applied the stuttering meme to a number of his other posts.
“I thought my TV was broken,” wrote another Weibo user. “I pounded on it a bunch of times.”
