Disgruntled Shanghaiist critics will have a fit when they realize that the prison in question is in the Philippines. To which I reply, "Black or white, Chinese or Phils: Jack-o knows no borders."

The talented inmates in question reside at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. In this video, hundreds of inmates perform the King of Pop's most famous choreography (right after moonwalking, the surgical destruction of one's face, and dodging molestation charges-- the latter two being considered "choreography" solely by dint of repetition).

Further research reveals CPDRC's dancin' skillz to be greater than one-hit wonderment. Netizon Toshi M. points out on BoingBoing:

"The Japanese kids' show Pitagora Suicchi has a recurring segment called the Algorithm March in which they do a little dance with a different group of people each week; here it is with ninjas. And, the relevant bit, here it is with 967 Filipino prisoners."

Spoil-sport civil-rights-watcher (gawwwd, quit harshing my indentured-servitude-mellow!) will question how 967 inmates could possibly have decided freely and happily to participate in aforementioned activities. Large-scale choreographed dance routines doesn't quite compare to some of the scary shit our own Chinese forefathers were into (see Death by A Thousand Cuts, The). But as CPDRC's fame grows, the slippery slope and potential for abuse steepens. Which is to say, if they ever get around to the Macarena, we're calling Amnesty International.

In other China/Thriller crossover news, check out Fujian blogger Ben's recount of a KTV encounter with the Jackson kind.

via BoingBoing