Worst Hu Jintao pun headlines

FENG LI/Getty Images News

If there's one thing all headline writers have in common, it's a love of clever wordplay. But puns aren't always a good thing. Exhibit A: the widespread misuse of Chinese President Hu Jintao's name, which offers too ripe a target for unrestrained wordsmiths. Herewith, a short list of the worst Hu headlines possible.

1. Hu wants to be a millionaire
2. Hu's your daddy
3. Knock, knock. Hu's there
4. It takes Hu to make a thing go right
5. Horton hears a Hu
6. It's a Hu world without Chou
7. Look! Hu's talking
8. Hu's on first
9. If not us, Hu? If not now, Wen?
10. Who's Hu in Chinese politics?

Honorable mention: Guess Hu's coming to dinner.

You'll be gratified to know that our new Web exclusive by Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution, one of the world's top experts on elite Chinese politics, eschews such cheap punnery. Read it to find out who's up, who's down, and who will be the next to rule China—and what it all means.