The hottest meme in China is not about strange local fashions or something concocted by painfully smart netizens, but has come about thanks to the awkward mouth of a Mr. Wang Yongping, spokesman for the Ministry of Railways.

After the serious train crash that happened on July 23 in Wenzhou, Mr. Wang Yongping's pathetic answers to the media on the first press conference held by the Ministry of Railways after the accident made him “rise to fame overnight”.

Wang’s First Mistake:

A reporter asked: “Why did soldiers still find a surviving little girl after you officially announced that there had not been signs of life and ordered an end the search and rescue work?”

Mr. Wang: “I have to say that it is a miracle of life.”

Wang’s Second Stupidly Worded Answer:

When a reporter asked why they dug the hole and hurriedly buried the head of the CRH train rather than concentrating on rescue work,

Mr. Wang threw out his most classic explanation: “About the burial of the train, my comrades who arrived later explained it to me like this: because the rescue was hampered by heavy rains and had become very muddy, they said they needed to bury the head of the train as a base to support the rescue effort. That is their explanation. Believe it or not, I believe it anyway (至于你信不信，我反正是信了。).

No doubt that Mr. Wang’s idiotic verbal wrangling irritated netizens--and they fought back by parodying his press conference answers. On Weibo, there is an on-going thread named the Gaotieti (高铁体) that features Mr. Wang’s “Believe it or not…” model to make silly sentences. As of today, there have been 3, 394, 338 replies to this word-play satire. If you can read a modicum of Chinese, it's worth checking out.

Three Clever Send-ups of Wang Yongping:

An Invitation to Ride
Are you still worried that you can’t afford to buy a house or cemetery? Just pick up your phone and order a high-speed train ticket. You will have chance to join in a free collection cremation, with a free burial service. You'll even have a chance to join a lucky draw worth RMB500,000. The first ten winners will get even more than RMB50,000 in cash prizes. Come on, all are worth trying for! Don't you believe that so many good things can happen to you? Believe it or not, I believe it anyway! --Chen Jian

New Journey to the West
Monk Tangseng and his four disciples decided to embark on their journey west again. Tangseng wanted to find a shortcut, so he asked Wukong for suggestions.

Wukong (the monkey) said: ”The airplane is much faster than our white horse.” Zhubajie (the pig) said:” I hear Shenzhou 6 is much faster. “ Then, bearded monk Shaseng pulled out four high-speed train tickets and said, ”Master, it’s said that this can bring us directly to “The West."** Believe it or not, I believe it anyway. “ --Peach

**Going "West" in traditional Chinese culture refers to moving closer to Buddha...and moving closer to death.

The Virgin Birth
A 28-year-old woman married an 82-year-old man. They couldn’t have sex, but the young wife became pregnant anyway. Do you know why? “It’s obvious that the baby is another man’s,” you might say, or “No, actually the baby is the old husband’s.” You might even guess “Artificial insemination.”

Wrong answer. The old man is from the Ministry of Railways and this is a miracle. It just happened! Believe it or not, I believe it anyway." --Xu Hongju