Safety shouldn’t be predicated on humiliation, and power shouldn’t become a weapon of humiliation. It was rope that kept them hanging in the gateway—what is it that made them hang their heads?"

— From an essay by WeChat public account Unyielding Bamboo, criticizing the managers who hung up three workers, dangling from safety harnesses, in a construction-site gateway as "punishment" for not following safety regulations.

 

CDT Highlights

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Translation: “Why is Everyone Talking About China ‘Seizing’ Australia?”

Following China’s unannounced naval exercises off the coast of Australia late last month, there has been a noticeable increase in Chinese social media content promoting the invasion (or “nabbing/seizing”) of Australia. There has also been pushback: many Chinese bloggers and commenters have expressed alarm about the rise of such bellicose online sentiment, and the extent to which it is being allowed to proliferate online, particularly in comparison to platform censorship of some more level-headed commentary on Sino-Australian relations. Last month’s Chinese live-fire naval drills, while...

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Gay Dating App Profiles Frozen During “Two Sessions” Political Meetings

The annual Two Sessions political meetings in Beijing have been accompanied by the traditional blanket of controls to avoid outbreaks of visible public dissent, on- or offline. This year, these measures include restrictions on changes to display names or profile pictures on Blued and Finka, two gay dating apps. Similar blocks have been imposed in the past on other platforms for periods surrounding particularly sensitive occasions such as June 4 or sessions of the Party’s National Congress (distinct from the National People’s Congress, a state event comprising one of the Two Sessions). Their...

Weibo, WeChat Censor Coverage of Chinese Student’s UK Rape Conviction

Last week, a Chinese PhD student at University College London was found guilty by a British court of raping ten women, and detectives suspect there may be dozens more victims. The incident highlights the ongoing barriers to accessing justice for women in China and the U.K., as well as the continued censorship of reports about sexual violence on Chinese social media. Pan Pylas from the AP provided more information on the conviction of “one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history”: Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner...

Translation: “Why is Everyone Talking About China ‘Seizing’ Australia?”

Following China’s unannounced naval exercises off the coast of Australia late last month, there has been a noticeable increase in Chinese social media content promoting the invasion (or “nabbing/seizing”) of Australia. There has also been pushback: many Chinese bloggers and commenters have expressed alarm about the rise of such bellicose online sentiment, and the extent to which it is being allowed to proliferate online, particularly in comparison to platform censorship of some more level-headed commentary on Sino-Australian relations. Last month’s Chinese live-fire naval drills, while...

Translation: “Why is Everyone Talking About China ‘Seizing’ Australia?”

Following China’s unannounced naval exercises off the coast of Australia late last month, there has been a noticeable increase in Chinese social media content promoting the invasion (or “nabbing/seizing”) of Australia. There has also been pushback: many Chinese bloggers and commenters have expressed alarm about the rise of such bellicose online sentiment, and the extent to which it is being allowed to proliferate online, particularly in comparison to platform censorship of some more level-headed commentary on Sino-Australian relations. Last month’s Chinese live-fire naval drills, while...

Minitrue Plus Five: March 3, 2020 – Xinjiang, South China Sea, COVID Evacuations, Wasted Donations

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

Minitrue Plus Five: March 10, 2020 – Tibet Independence, COVID Rent Relief, Whistleblower, Epidemic Transmission and Treatments

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

New eBook: China Digital Times Lexicon, 20th Anniversary Edition

On September 12, 2003, John Battelle published the first post on chinadigitaltimes.net: Here’s what a Google Search on “china weblog” yields, I’m looking forward to seeing ours at the top soon! China’s online population at the start of that year was nearly 60 million. Ten years later, it was fast approaching 600 million, and now, after 20, it is well over a billion. This new completely revised and hugely expanded update to our ebook series, formerly known as “the Grass Mud Horse Lexicon,” aims to capture something of the enormous explosion of online speech that accompanied this growth, with...

Reports on Job Ads and Opinion Surveys Open Windows Into China’s Online Censorship

A new report by the Open Technology Fund (OTF) explores the growing demand for human-powered censorship in China. While the Party-state under Xi Jinping has increasingly restricted political expression, expanded its censorship apparatus, and experimented with leveraging AI for this goal, the bulk of censorship implementation remains a low-skilled, low-paid, and labor-intensive task performed by human workers in the private sector. As noted in the report, "The ICFP [Information Controls Fellowship Program] fellow analyzed job ads related to the censorship industry published over a...

Translation: “Why is Everyone Talking About China ‘Seizing’ Australia?”

Following China’s unannounced naval exercises off the coast of Australia late last month, there has been a noticeable increase in Chinese social media content promoting the invasion (or “nabbing/seizing”) of Australia. There has also been pushback: many Chinese bloggers and commenters have expressed alarm about the rise of such bellicose online sentiment, and the extent to which it is being allowed to proliferate online, particularly in comparison to platform censorship of some more level-headed commentary on Sino-Australian relations. Last month’s Chinese live-fire naval drills, while...

Reports on Job Ads and Opinion Surveys Open Windows Into China’s Online Censorship

A new report by the Open Technology Fund (OTF) explores the growing demand for human-powered censorship in China. While the Party-state under Xi Jinping has increasingly restricted political expression, expanded its censorship apparatus, and experimented with leveraging AI for this goal, the bulk of censorship implementation remains a low-skilled, low-paid, and labor-intensive task performed by human workers in the private sector. As noted in the report, "The ICFP [Information Controls Fellowship Program] fellow analyzed job ads related to the censorship industry published over a...

Translation: Is Punishing Workers With Literal Suspension About Safety, or Power?

A photo showing three construction workers suspended from a gateway in their safety harnesses has sparked discussion online over the use of Cultural Revolution-style humiliation, workplace discipline versus personal dignity, the abuse of ordinary Chinese by those who wield power over them, and the different standards of accountability to which people from different social strata are held. The workers were hung up on public display after failing to wear their safety harnesses, under a sign reading “Safety Harness Usage—A Practical Demonstration,” framed by more slogans: “Put people first;...

Minitrue Plus Five: January 20, 2020 – Hospital Attack, Financial Company’s Social Media Banishment, Mercedes in Forbidden City, Coronavirus

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

Human Rights

Latest

Weibo, WeChat Censor Coverage of Chinese Student’s UK Rape Conviction

Last week, a Chinese PhD student at University College London was found guilty by a British court of raping ten women, and detectives suspect there may be dozens more victims. The incident highlights the ongoing barriers to accessing justice for women in China and the U.K., as well as the continued censorship of reports about sexual violence on Chinese social media. Pan Pylas from the AP provided more information on the conviction of “one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history”: Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner...

Politics

Latest

Minitrue Plus Five: March 7, 2020 – TV Dramas, Taiwan Elections, Gratitude Education, Diamond Princess, Hotel Collapse

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

Society

Latest

WeChat Users React to Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office Meeting: “Don’t You Have Any Respect for His Country or His People?”

The fallout from Friday’s heated Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and today’s announcement that the U.S. would pause aid to Ukraine continues to reverberate around the world. In China, netizens closely followed the events and reflected upon the role of diplomacy in the world’s rapidly shifting geopolitical alignments. On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in China’s official WeChat account shared a press release about the meeting, during which Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance had berated Zelenskyy over what they claimed was his lack...

China & the World

Latest

Minitrue Plus Five: February 27, 2020 – Epidemic Control, Aid, Child Patients, A Woman Named Huang

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

Law

Latest

Translation: Is Punishing Workers With Literal Suspension About Safety, or Power?

A photo showing three construction workers suspended from a gateway in their safety harnesses has sparked discussion online over the use of Cultural Revolution-style humiliation, workplace discipline versus personal dignity, the abuse of ordinary Chinese by those who wield power over them, and the different standards of accountability to which people from different social strata are held. The workers were hung up on public display after failing to wear their safety harnesses, under a sign reading “Safety Harness Usage—A Practical Demonstration,” framed by more slogans: “Put people first;...

Information Revolution

Latest

New U.S. Export Controls Aim to Curtail China’s Access to Advanced Semiconductor Technology

Over the past two weeks, the Biden administration has issued a series of regulations intended to halt China’s development of advanced technologies. The measures restrict the export of advanced chips, design software, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment that are crucial to China’s military, AI, and supercomputing initiatives. While the impact of these regulations remains to be seen, this “major watershed” demonstrates a significant U.S. policy shift towards a more aggressive approach to China, and risks accelerating technological and economic decoupling between the two countries across...

Culture & the Arts

Latest

“Beijing +30” Inspires Reflection on the Evolution of Gender Equality in China

Convening next week for its annual gathering, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will mark 30 years since the famous Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, also known as the “Beijing conference.” CSW will assess the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark resolution adopted at the conference that provided a comprehensive, progressive framework for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. With rising anti-feminist political movements in China and around the world, and with only five years left to achieve the 2030 Sustainable...

The Great Divide

Latest

Minitrue Plus Five: January 20, 2020 – Hospital Attack, Financial Company’s Social Media Banishment, Mercedes in Forbidden City, Coronavirus

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

Sci-Tech

Latest

Reports on Job Ads and Opinion Surveys Open Windows Into China’s Online Censorship

A new report by the Open Technology Fund (OTF) explores the growing demand for human-powered censorship in China. While the Party-state under Xi Jinping has increasingly restricted political expression, expanded its censorship apparatus, and experimented with leveraging AI for this goal, the bulk of censorship implementation remains a low-skilled, low-paid, and labor-intensive task performed by human workers in the private sector. As noted in the report, "The ICFP [Information Controls Fellowship Program] fellow analyzed job ads related to the censorship industry published over a...

Environment

Latest

Massive Earthquake Shakes Tibet, Reveals Danger of Proposed Hydropower Dam

On Tuesday morning, a county in Tibet experienced one of its strongest earthquakes in years. According to official figures, at least 126 people were killed and 188 others injured, and rescue efforts are ongoing amidst freezing temperatures. China’s earthquake center recorded a magnitude of 6.8 (the U.S. Geological Survey measured a magnitude of 7.1) at the epicenter in Dingri County, about 80 kilometers north of Mount Everest. Since then, a series of other earthquakes have struck the region, including a magnitude 5.5 quake in Qinghai Province and a magnitude 3.1 tremblor in Sichuan. These...

Hong Kong

Latest

Minitrue Plus Five: March 3, 2020 – Xinjiang, South China Sea, COVID Evacuations, Wasted Donations

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...

Taiwan

Latest

Translation: “Why is Everyone Talking About China ‘Seizing’ Australia?”

Following China’s unannounced naval exercises off the coast of Australia late last month, there has been a noticeable increase in Chinese social media content promoting the invasion (or “nabbing/seizing”) of Australia. There has also been pushback: many Chinese bloggers and commenters have expressed alarm about the rise of such bellicose online sentiment, and the extent to which it is being allowed to proliferate online, particularly in comparison to platform censorship of some more level-headed commentary on Sino-Australian relations. Last month’s Chinese live-fire naval drills, while...

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