Months Before 7 Members of Standing Committee Announced, Sina Weibo Censored Searches for "Nine Becomes Seven"

On November 16, 2012, the China Daily published an article entitled "A New Generation of Leaders Unveiled." Some excerpts:

A new generation of leaders took to the stage on Thursday with Communist Party of China chief Xi Jinping acknowledging the challenges ahead, including improving people's livelihoods and tackling corruption, and confidently pledging to overcome them.

Xi was sworn in on Thursday as general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC, leading the seven-member Standing Committee of the Political Bureau.
. . . .
The other six members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau are Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli. They were elected at the first plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee following the Party's 18th National Congress.

Previously the Standing Committee had comprised nine members.

The screenshot below was taken on July 20, 2012, and shows that a search on Sina Weibo for "nine becomes seven" (9变7) at that time returned no results, just a notice saying "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, search results for '9 becomes 7' have not been displayed." (根据相关法律法规和政策，“9变7”搜索结果未予显示。).