In mainland China, August 1 is known as PLA Day or Army Day, and commemorates the establishment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 1927. This year, the celebration of the PLA’s 96th anniversary coincided with a...
On May 18, 2023, blogger and activist Wu Gan was released from prison after serving an eight-year sentence for “subversion of state power.” Active in rights defense cases since 2009, Wu Gan (whose screen name was “Super Vulgar...
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...
Nearly three years and two months after whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang’s death from COVID-19, the “Wailing Wall” that emerged in the comments section under his last Weibo post continues to serve as a repository for the hopes,...
Every movement needs its anthem. In the now-censored musical parody “Sunny Side Kong Yiji,” the emergent “Kong Yiji literature” wave seems to have found one of its own. “Kong Yiji literature” is a genre of self-deprecating...
This year, the United Nations’ theme for March 8 International Women’s Day was “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.” In China, people marked the holiday with a variety of thought-provoking and creative...
March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global holiday focusing on gender equality, the rights of working women, reproductive rights, and the reduction of violence against women, among other issues. This year’s United...
February 6 marked the three-year anniversary of the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, a young ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital whose attempts to warn colleagues and the public of an emerging coronavirus made him an heroic...
Surveillance in Chinese cities is ubiquitous, with highly visible security cameras trained on most every intersection, public space, and building, but over the past decade, it has been seeping into the countryside as well. In an...
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...
It has been nearly one year since a viral video of a woman shackled and chained in a freezing shed in Dongji Village (Feng County, Jiangsu Province) provoked widespread outrage among the Chinese public and triggered an...
The following censorship instructions have been distributed online. In order to create a festive and harmonious atmosphere for online discourse during Spring Festival, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has...
The following article addresses “central government policymakers” and poses ten direct questions about China’s long-running “zero-COVID” policy, which was in effect until a sudden policy shift on December 7, 2022. Its form and...
2022 was an extraordinary year in China, and our editors’ “best of” picks from CDT and other media outlets reflect the many dramatic events that shaped people’s lives. It was the third and apparently final year of China’s...
The recent abrupt end to China’s “zero-COVID” policy has left many citizens feeling confused and dismayed, unsure how to best protect themselves and their families. There have been reports of Omicron outbreaks in many Chinese...
The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Cyberspace Administration of China 6:11 P.M., November 29, 2022 Notification: Thorough Clean-up and...
Earlier this week, screenshots of “Ten Questions” about China’s pandemic policy began making the rounds on the Chinese internet and social media, attracting a great deal of interest and commentary. Those screenshots have now...
The below essay is a translation of WeChat blogger “Brother Lou’s” account of being invited to “drink tea” after sending a Weibo post questioning the integrity of a local Zhejiang police department. The essay was censored by...
Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention
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