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Chinese internet
users began reporting last week that searches on the
Twitter-like microblogging site Weibo and search engine Baidu
for the expression returned no results, the normal sign that
something is being blocked despite its wide usage.
The term - which refers to the weight of Kim, his father and
grandfather - was last blocked in September after neighboring
North Korea's latest nuclear test.
Kim is unpopular in China because of his country's repeated
nuclear and missile tests.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said reports the
government had banned the search term "did not accord with the
facts".
"What I want to stress is that China has always dedicated itself
to constructing a rational, cultured and healthy environment for
public opinion," Geng told a daily news briefing.
China "does not approve of insulting or ridiculing language to
address any country's leader", he added, without elaborating.
Both Baidu Inc and Sina Corp, which owns Weibo, declined to
comment.
China's internet regulator did not respond to a request for
comment.
Many Chinese, however, took to Weibo to suggest multiple other
terms which sound similar to "Fatty Kim the Third" and which are
not blocked.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Paul
Carsten; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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