What Zheng Zhihua wanted was dignity, but many people feel that dignity is non-essential. Some people tacitly accept a lack of dignity in their own lives, and by extension, they don’t feel that others are deserving of dignity."

— Well-known Chinese blind folk singer, songwriter, and poet Zhou Yunpeng, commenting on the vitriolic backlash against Taiwanese singer Zheng Zhihua after Zheng complained about being unable to board a plane with a wheelchair at Shenzhen's airport

 

CDT Highlights

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Translations: Mourning the Decline of Investigative Reporting on China’s National Journalists’ Day

Last Saturday, November 8, was China’s National Journalists’ Day—often an occasion for mixed feelings among China’s beleaguered independent journalists. The WeChat account 磨稿子 Mó Gǎozi, or “Polishing Manuscripts,” for example, marked the date by interviewing three formerly prominent investigative reporters—including Jian Guangzhou, who broke the Sanlu milk powder scandal—about their lives since leaving the field. “These three colleagues all left journalism a long time ago, and their current occupations are all fairly similar: Jian Guangzhou started selling liquor, Kang Shaojian...

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The Guardian Interviews Chinese Fighters for Ukraine

The involvement of Chinese nationals in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine received widespread media attention earlier this year. This included an extended interview by Chinese journalist Chai Jing with one such combatant, "Macaron," which was was subsequently translated in two parts by CDT. The much smaller number of Chinese fighters on the Ukrainian side has received less notice. One notable exception is Peng Chenliang, who was killed in 2024 and, before joining the war, had reportedly been detained for seven months in China over his anti-Russia, pro-Ukraine posts on X....

Ahead of Global Women’s Summit in Beijing, More Feminist Content Blocked on WeChat

In the run-up to the Global Women’s Summit slated for October in Beijing, which will mark the 30th anniversary of that city’s influential 1995 U.N. World Conference on Women, some WeChat accounts focused on feminism and women’s empowerment have been blocked or had their content deleted. Earlier this month, feminist blogger Jiang Chan (姜婵, Jiāng Chán) had her official WeChat account blocked. The account now displays a message saying that it has been blocked, and that the content cannot be viewed because it is in violation of Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) regulations. Jiang hasn’t...

Translations: As Tributes Pour In, Chengdu’s You Xing Bookstore Gets a Reprieve From Feared Closure

Following more than a week of speculation that Chengdu’s You Xing Bookstore (有杏书店, Yǒu Xìng Shūdiàn) would soon close, amid an outpouring of tributes from customers and supporters, it appears that the beloved bookstore and events space has been granted a reprieve and will remain in business. Started in August 2023 by former financial reporter and prolific blogger Zhang Feng and a group of friends, You Xing Bookstore has become a vibrant public space, providing books, coffee, free public events, and a much-needed sense of community following three years of “zero-COVID” policy-induced...

Translations: Mourning the Decline of Investigative Reporting on China’s National Journalists’ Day

Last Saturday, November 8, was China’s National Journalists’ Day—often an occasion for mixed feelings among China’s beleaguered independent journalists. The WeChat account 磨稿子 Mó Gǎozi, or “Polishing Manuscripts,” for example, marked the date by interviewing three formerly prominent investigative reporters—including Jian Guangzhou, who broke the Sanlu milk powder scandal—about their lives since leaving the field. “These three colleagues all left journalism a long time ago, and their current occupations are all fairly similar: Jian Guangzhou started selling liquor, Kang Shaojian...

Journalist’s Hong Kong Visa Denial and FCCC Report Underscore Declining Press Freedom

“After six years of reporting in Hong Kong, and at eight months pregnant, I’m very sad to be leaving my colleagues, friends and the place I’ve called home,” wrote senior Bloomberg News reporter Rebecca Choong Wilkins in an X post on Saturday. As other outlets confirmed, the Hong Kong government refused to renew Choong Wilkins’ visa in what many journalists and media organizations have described as the latest blow to press freedom in the city. David Pierson at The New York Times provided more information on the incident: The journalist, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, was not given a reason for her...

Interview: Jessica Batke and Laura Edelson on China’s “Locknet”

In June, ChinaFile published a new report, "The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters"—the product of 18 months’ work by Jessica Batke, ChinaFile’s senior editor for investigations, and Laura Edelson, assistant professor of computer science at Northeastern University. The report gives a concise but thorough overview of China’s online censorship system, including the motivations behind it and the mechanisms by which it is implemented. It expands on the familiar image of the "Great Firewall" as a perimeter barrier, adopting a broader...

Interview: Badiucao and Melissa Chan on Their Graphic Novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution

You Must Take Part in Revolution is a graphic novel by Badiucao, political cartoonist and former CDT contributor, and Melissa Chan, a journalist who in 2012 became the first reporter to be expelled from China in more than a decade. The book was conceived in the wake of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, and follows the divergent paths of three friends in Hong Kong and Taiwan from their involvement in the protests through to 2035. CDT: I’m sure anyone reading CDT is familiar with each of you separately. How did the two of you come to join forces? Melissa Chan: I’d interviewed Badiucao for a...

Translations: Mourning the Decline of Investigative Reporting on China’s National Journalists’ Day

Last Saturday, November 8, was China’s National Journalists’ Day—often an occasion for mixed feelings among China’s beleaguered independent journalists. The WeChat account 磨稿子 Mó Gǎozi, or “Polishing Manuscripts,” for example, marked the date by interviewing three formerly prominent investigative reporters—including Jian Guangzhou, who broke the Sanlu milk powder scandal—about their lives since leaving the field. “These three colleagues all left journalism a long time ago, and their current occupations are all fairly similar: Jian Guangzhou started selling liquor, Kang Shaojian...

Translations: Mourning the Decline of Investigative Reporting on China’s National Journalists’ Day

Last Saturday, November 8, was China’s National Journalists’ Day—often an occasion for mixed feelings among China’s beleaguered independent journalists. The WeChat account 磨稿子 Mó Gǎozi, or “Polishing Manuscripts,” for example, marked the date by interviewing three formerly prominent investigative reporters—including Jian Guangzhou, who broke the Sanlu milk powder scandal—about their lives since leaving the field. “These three colleagues all left journalism a long time ago, and their current occupations are all fairly similar: Jian Guangzhou started selling liquor, Kang Shaojian...

Netizen Voices: Tencent’s Positive Energy Algorithm Task Force and the Perils of “Information Cocoons”

This week, a report at IT Home described recent corporate initiatives in the fight to promote "positive energy" and suppress "malicious" negativity online. (As China Media Project explains, "’Positive energy’ has been an important phrase in the Xi Jinping era to refer to information controls and official messaging, both domestically and internationally. The term generally refers to the need for uplifting messages as opposed to critical or negative ones – and particularly the need for content that puts the Party and government in a positive light.")...

Beijing Banner Protester: “Establish a New China That is Free, Humane, and Governed by Rule of Law”

The image above shows a one-man protest that reportedly took place at the high-end Taikoo Li Sanlitun mall (formerly Sanlitun Village) in Beijing on October 25, shortly after the end of the Party’s Fourth Plenum. Another circulating photograph appears to show the confiscated banners being taken away, but the current situation of the protester is unclear. The incident is the latest in a series of banner protests carried out in recent years by so-called "warriors" (勇士, yǒngshì) who have variously disappeared into custody, escaped the country, or remained unknown. CDT Chinese...

Translation: Plunging Prices, Sprouting Weeds, and Broken Dreams

At The New York Times on Monday, columnist Li Yuan describes how, as "wages stagnate and jobs disappear, the promise of upward social mobility is eroding, especially for those from modest backgrounds. For many […], the Chinese Dream no longer feels achievable." Similar themes have featured prominently on CDT in recent months, from uproar over the "4+4" fast-track for medical qualifications to commentary on the decline of former "golden ticket" degrees like computer science and the resurgent appeal of official careers. Other examples include gallows humor...

Human Rights

Latest

Ahead of Global Women’s Summit in Beijing, More Feminist Content Blocked on WeChat

In the run-up to the Global Women’s Summit slated for October in Beijing, which will mark the 30th anniversary of that city’s influential 1995 U.N. World Conference on Women, some WeChat accounts focused on feminism and women’s empowerment have been blocked or had their content deleted. Earlier this month, feminist blogger Jiang Chan (姜婵, Jiāng Chán) had her official WeChat account blocked. The account now displays a message saying that it has been blocked, and that the content cannot be viewed because it is in violation of Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) regulations. Jiang hasn’t...

Politics

Latest

Public Opinion Surveys Show Recent Gains for China’s Soft Power

Several public opinion surveys published over the last few months paint a picture of China’s role in the world from the perspective of both Chinese and international respondents. These build on previous surveys from the past year that show how despite polarized views, global attitudes towards China have improved at the expense of the U.S., especially in the Global South. (Meanwhile, polls showing dissatisfaction within China have been censored online.) One notable survey published this month by Dina Smeltz, Craig Kafura, Yawei Liu, Nick Zeller, and Sam Dong at the Chicago Council on Global...

Society

Latest

Translation: International Students in China Complain, “Quark AI Has Forgotten Us!”

Some international students in China have taken to social media platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu) to complain about being excluded from obtaining free educational accounts for Quark AI, an LLM tool widely used by their Chinese university classmates. Using the hashtag #WeStudyInChina, these students have also set up an online “message wall” to lobby for inclusion in the popular AI tool. Chinese online reactions to the students’ pleas ranged from sympathy to amusement, Schadenfreude to national pride. Some commenters highlighted the perceived privileges enjoyed by exchange students in China,...

China & the World

Latest

Two Major Leaks Illuminate Censorship and Surveillance Sales Into and From China

New reporting on two large collections of leaked documents sheds light on the trade of surveillance and censorship technology into and out of China. One, by Dake Kang and Yael Grauer for the Associated Press, builds on an initial collection of thousands of documents leaked from Chinese surveillance company Landasoft to demonstrate how "partnership between American firms and the Chinese police laid the groundwork for China’s digital surveillance state as it exists today — the largest and most sophisticated on earth." The other, by a consortium including Amnesty International and The...

Law

Latest

Beijing Banner Protester: “Establish a New China That is Free, Humane, and Governed by Rule of Law”

The image above shows a one-man protest that reportedly took place at the high-end Taikoo Li Sanlitun mall (formerly Sanlitun Village) in Beijing on October 25, shortly after the end of the Party’s Fourth Plenum. Another circulating photograph appears to show the confiscated banners being taken away, but the current situation of the protester is unclear. The incident is the latest in a series of banner protests carried out in recent years by so-called "warriors" (勇士, yǒngshì) who have variously disappeared into custody, escaped the country, or remained unknown. CDT Chinese...

Information Revolution

Latest

Translation: Special One-Month Reconnaissance Operation Against “Overseas Cyber Forces”

A pair of recently surfaced screenshots appear to offer unusual detail about a special month-long operation, held in Beijing and involving over 40 Ministry of Public Security computer specialists from around the country, to combat “overseas cyber forces” in the battle for public opinion. The apparently leaked internal instructions from the Ministry of Public Security are likely to be the result of an email breach. They include the names and locations of many of the computer-specialist officers, as well as the name and contact information of the individual in charge of the operation. At some...

Culture & the Arts

Latest

Transnational Pressure Campaign Forces Closure of IndieChina Film Festival in New York City

The inaugural IndieChina Film Festival (IndieChina电影节, IndieChina Diànyǐngjié), which was set to run from November 8-15 in New York City, has been forced to close due to what appears to be a coordinated transnational pressure campaign by the Chinese government. Citing intimidation and threats made against the families of Chinese organizers and volunteers, as well as unrelenting pressure on participating directors to pull their films from the festival, IndieChina curator Zhu Rikun issued a statement on November 5 announcing that for the safety of all involved the festival would not go...

The Great Divide

Latest

Translation: Plunging Prices, Sprouting Weeds, and Broken Dreams

At The New York Times on Monday, columnist Li Yuan describes how, as "wages stagnate and jobs disappear, the promise of upward social mobility is eroding, especially for those from modest backgrounds. For many […], the Chinese Dream no longer feels achievable." Similar themes have featured prominently on CDT in recent months, from uproar over the "4+4" fast-track for medical qualifications to commentary on the decline of former "golden ticket" degrees like computer science and the resurgent appeal of official careers. Other examples include gallows humor...

Sci-Tech

Latest

Netizen Voices: Tencent’s Positive Energy Algorithm Task Force and the Perils of “Information Cocoons”

This week, a report at IT Home described recent corporate initiatives in the fight to promote "positive energy" and suppress "malicious" negativity online. (As China Media Project explains, "’Positive energy’ has been an important phrase in the Xi Jinping era to refer to information controls and official messaging, both domestically and internationally. The term generally refers to the need for uplifting messages as opposed to critical or negative ones – and particularly the need for content that puts the Party and government in a positive light.")...

Environment

Latest

Construction on Tibetan Megadam Fuels Ecological and Social Concerns

After Beijing granted authorization in December, construction on what would be the world’s largest hydropower dam has now begun. The site is located along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in southeastern Tibet, and it has drawn criticism from Tibetan rights groups concerned about social and ecological impacts, and downstream countries concerned about the potential weaponization of water flows. Helen Davidson at The Guardian summarized the massive scale of the proposed project: Construction of the world’s biggest hydropower megadam has begun, China’s premier has said, calling it the “project of the...

Hong Kong

Latest

Journalist’s Hong Kong Visa Denial and FCCC Report Underscore Declining Press Freedom

“After six years of reporting in Hong Kong, and at eight months pregnant, I’m very sad to be leaving my colleagues, friends and the place I’ve called home,” wrote senior Bloomberg News reporter Rebecca Choong Wilkins in an X post on Saturday. As other outlets confirmed, the Hong Kong government refused to renew Choong Wilkins’ visa in what many journalists and media organizations have described as the latest blow to press freedom in the city. David Pierson at The New York Times provided more information on the incident: The journalist, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, was not given a reason for her...

Taiwan

Latest

Taiwanese Singer Zheng Zhihua’s Boarding Difficulties at Shenzhen Airport Spur Debate About Disability Access in China

Taiwanese singer Zheng Zhihua’s complaint about a difficult experience boarding a flight at Shenzhen’s main airport has spurred heated online debate about barrier-free access for disabled people in China. Both Zheng and the airport offered apologies and Zheng, after being attacked online for the way he worded his complaint, has reportedly deleted his Weibo account. The 63-year-old singer, who performs frequently in both China and Taiwan, is well-known on both sides of the strait for such hit songs as "Sailor," "Star Lighting," "The Great Citizen," and “33...

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