These idiotically laughing people aren’t just the stuff of a moment, some brief period of time—they’re more like the long-term state of our nation. Of course, that’s not something I really want to see, but since that’s our status quo, I think I ought to continue producing them.”

— A past comment from renowned contemporary painter Yue Minjun, who this week was targeted by online nationalists for “insulting" the Chinese military with his 2007 series of paintings depicting inanely smiling and laughing PLA soldiers

 

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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...

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China and G7 Nations Trade Accusations of Economic Coercion, Deepen Geopolitical Fault Lines

Tensions rose in the wake of the G7 summit last weekend, as China weathered accusations of being an economic and security threat, while countering with its own similar accusations against the West. The meeting of the multilateral group—composed of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan, and punctuated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s surprise visit—underscored the extent to which China has become entrenched as a geopolitical antagonist in the eyes of many Western leaders. David Pierson and Chris Buckley from The New York Times described the parallels between the...

Tourism Push and Continued Labor Coercion Mark New Phase in Xinjiang Repression

Exactly one year ago, a consortium of media outlets released the Xinjiang Police Files, a cache of tens of thousands of files showing images of Uyghur detainees in Xinjiang’s concentration camps and manuals for enforcing their subjugation. In the year since then, despite multiple high-level U.N. reports documenting forced labor and “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang that “may constitute […] crimes against humanity,” the CCP has continued to enforce coercive policies in the region with impunity. Recent articles and reports document a new phase of repression in Xinjiang, one marked...

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...

China Mounts Narrative Counterattack After Kenya Hacking Report

This week, a set of reports emerged alleging that Chinese state-backed actors perpetrated cyberattacks against foreign governments. In response, Chinese state media sprang into action by relaying official denials of responsibility, diverting attention to Western misconduct, and praising the benefits of China’s relationship with the host country. A short analysis of local media coverage of the events highlights the traction of Chinese state-media narratives. On Wednesday, Reuters released an investigation concluding that Chinese actors hacked into several ministries and institutions of the...

Hong Kong Government Purges Politically Sensitive Books from Libraries

Local media outlets in Hong Kong report that hundreds of books on political topics including the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre are no longer available in the city’s public libraries, after the city’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department ordered librarians to ensure that their collections contained nothing in violation of the National Security Law. This is the latest example of government censorship in Hong Kong that further restricts free speech and attempts to rewrite history. Helen Davidson from The Guardian described the extent of the book purge: On Tuesday, Hong Kong media outlets reported...

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...

Interview: Joshua Kurlantzick on Beijing’s Global Media Offensive

Surveys have shown that Xi Jinping’s hardline foreign policy is increasingly unpopular abroad. Given the CCP’s mixed success using soft power to repair China’s image, party propagandists have increasingly resorted to sharper global-influence operations, often via foreign media. Pro-CCP narratives are propagated through the media, particularly on sensitive topics such as former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang. These narratives reveal that the media is a major component of China’s influence operations abroad. Understanding how the...

Tourism Push and Continued Labor Coercion Mark New Phase in Xinjiang Repression

Exactly one year ago, a consortium of media outlets released the Xinjiang Police Files, a cache of tens of thousands of files showing images of Uyghur detainees in Xinjiang’s concentration camps and manuals for enforcing their subjugation. In the year since then, despite multiple high-level U.N. reports documenting forced labor and “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang that “may constitute […] crimes against humanity,” the CCP has continued to enforce coercive policies in the region with impunity. Recent articles and reports document a new phase of repression in Xinjiang, one marked...

China Mounts Narrative Counterattack After Kenya Hacking Report

This week, a set of reports emerged alleging that Chinese state-backed actors perpetrated cyberattacks against foreign governments. In response, Chinese state media sprang into action by relaying official denials of responsibility, diverting attention to Western misconduct, and praising the benefits of China’s relationship with the host country. A short analysis of local media coverage of the events highlights the traction of Chinese state-media narratives. On Wednesday, Reuters released an investigation concluding that Chinese actors hacked into several ministries and institutions of the...

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...

Tourism Push and Continued Labor Coercion Mark New Phase in Xinjiang Repression

Exactly one year ago, a consortium of media outlets released the Xinjiang Police Files, a cache of tens of thousands of files showing images of Uyghur detainees in Xinjiang’s concentration camps and manuals for enforcing their subjugation. In the year since then, despite multiple high-level U.N. reports documenting forced labor and “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang that “may constitute […] crimes against humanity,” the CCP has continued to enforce coercive policies in the region with impunity. Recent articles and reports document a new phase of repression in Xinjiang, one marked...

Translation: My Hometown Survived the Pandemic

Even before the lifting of China’s long-standing “zero-COVID” policy in early December of last year, there were signs of a surge in Omicron cases nationwide. Since then, China has experienced a tsunami of infections—first in larger cities, and then in the countryside—amid concerns about shortages of needed medications, the increasing risk of medical debt, and unreliable official data on the numbers of infections and deaths. Despite the recent Lunar New Year celebration in which hundreds of millions of residents went traveling and returned to their hometowns, there are signs that the wave of...

Human Rights

Latest

Tourism Push and Continued Labor Coercion Mark New Phase in Xinjiang Repression

Exactly one year ago, a consortium of media outlets released the Xinjiang Police Files, a cache of tens of thousands of files showing images of Uyghur detainees in Xinjiang’s concentration camps and manuals for enforcing their subjugation. In the year since then, despite multiple high-level U.N. reports documenting forced labor and “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang that “may constitute […] crimes against humanity,” the CCP has continued to enforce coercive policies in the region with impunity. Recent articles and reports document a new phase of repression in Xinjiang, one marked...

Politics

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Word of the Week: Zero-COVID Nail Houses (防疫钉子户, fángyì dīngzihù)

“Zero-COVID nail houses” (防疫钉子户, fángyì dīngzihù) are people who still adhere to strict virus prevention measures despite the end of the national zero-COVID policy. It is often used self-deprecatingly by “nail houses” themselves in group chats dedicated to sharing their experiences. The term is a riff on China’s mass demolition-era “nail houses,” a phrase which has entered the lexicon as a humorous catch-all for holdouts who refuse to go along with changes to the status quo. It is also a play on “Epidemic Prevention Hobbyists” (防疫爱好者, Fángyì àihào zhě), the derisive term for the volunteer...

Society

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Translation: Censored Lyrics and Reactions to Guangdong Rapper Vyan’s “Land of Hope”

On March 25th, Guangdong-based rapper Liu Wanli, better known as Vyan (pronounced “vee-yen”) was invited to appear on “One Seat,” a lecture program that has been called “China’s TED Talks.” In his appearance, he performed an original rap song titled “Land of Hope,” which made reference to a number of current events and societal issues, including the case of Xiaohuamei, a trafficked woman and mother of eight who was kept chained in a shed in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province. Vyan’s performance attracted a great deal of attention online, with many netizens praising his...

China & the World

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State Media Hails Evacuation of Chinese Citizens, Others from Sudan

Heavy fighting between rival military groups in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum has put local and foreign civilians in peril. Over the past week, Chinese, American, and other governments implemented evacuation plans to escort their citizens to safety, traversing breakdowns in multiple ceasefires between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. China completed two rounds of large-scale maritime evacuations that carried over 1,300 of its citizens to safety. And while state media outlets celebrated the operation, which was particularly successfully compared to previous ones in...

Law

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Tourism Push and Continued Labor Coercion Mark New Phase in Xinjiang Repression

Exactly one year ago, a consortium of media outlets released the Xinjiang Police Files, a cache of tens of thousands of files showing images of Uyghur detainees in Xinjiang’s concentration camps and manuals for enforcing their subjugation. In the year since then, despite multiple high-level U.N. reports documenting forced labor and “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang that “may constitute […] crimes against humanity,” the CCP has continued to enforce coercive policies in the region with impunity. Recent articles and reports document a new phase of repression in Xinjiang, one marked...

Information Revolution

Latest

WeChat “Bug” Turns Out To Be Obscure Insult for Xi Jinping

A group of students under the impression they had discovered a WeChat “bug” that hides the phrase “200 jin of dumplings” (roughly 220 pounds) had in fact stumbled upon an obscure insult for Xi Jinping that triggers automatic censorship.  In the course of daily conversation, the students found that messages preceded by the term “200 jin of dumplings” (200斤饺子) were not received by their counterparts. Juvenile hilarity ensued. They sent each other curses and confessions: “200 jin of dumplings, you’re a stupid c***,” “200 jin of dumplings, you’re an idiot,” “200 jin of dumplings, piggy,” and...

Culture & the Arts

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Translation: Lanzhou University Dodges a Bullet After Lecturer is Reported for “Distorting” Korean War History

A recent incident illustrates what a minefield it has become to discuss anything, past or present, related to the Chinese military. This week, a history lecturer at Lanzhou University was accused by someone online of “distorting” facts about the Korean War: in other words, of committing “historical nihilism” by offering an interpretation at odds with CCP historical orthodoxy. Luckily for the lecturer, the university came to their defense and the controversy was quickly defused, but given the timing, the lecturer could have found their job—or even their freedom—at risk. The incident was...

The Great Divide

Latest

Translation: My Hometown Survived the Pandemic

Even before the lifting of China’s long-standing “zero-COVID” policy in early December of last year, there were signs of a surge in Omicron cases nationwide. Since then, China has experienced a tsunami of infections—first in larger cities, and then in the countryside—amid concerns about shortages of needed medications, the increasing risk of medical debt, and unreliable official data on the numbers of infections and deaths. Despite the recent Lunar New Year celebration in which hundreds of millions of residents went traveling and returned to their hometowns, there are signs that the wave of...

Sci-Tech

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...

Environment

Latest

Signs of Sino-U.S. Cooperation at COP27, But Climate Pledges Still Fall Short

At the halfway point of the COP27 international climate-change summit, there are encouraging signs that China and the U.S. may put aside geopolitical tensions in order to collectively stave off existential catastrophe for the world. However, both countries are currently falling short of the emission-reduction goals agreed upon in the 2015 Paris Agreement, and small, developing nations most at risk of a warming planet are demanding greater efforts. Caixin summarized China’s engagement with the U.S. at COP27: China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said he met with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry...

Hong Kong

Latest

Hong Kong Government Purges Politically Sensitive Books from Libraries

Local media outlets in Hong Kong report that hundreds of books on political topics including the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre are no longer available in the city’s public libraries, after the city’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department ordered librarians to ensure that their collections contained nothing in violation of the National Security Law. This is the latest example of government censorship in Hong Kong that further restricts free speech and attempts to rewrite history. Helen Davidson from The Guardian described the extent of the book purge: On Tuesday, Hong Kong media outlets reported...

Taiwan

Latest

Xi and Biden Show Resolve, Cool Tensions in Bali Meeting

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping met on Monday in Bali for their first in-person meeting since Biden took office. Buoyed by their recent political victories at home, the two leaders sought to stabilize the deteriorating Sino-U.S. relationship and clarify their respective priorities. Some progress was made by renewing high-level talks on important issues such as climate change, but it remains to be seen whether this meeting provided a sustainable foundation for the fraught rivalry between the two countries. At The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Restuccia, Ken...

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