A recent WeChat post from oft-controversial entrepreneur, publicity hound, and philanthropist Chen Guangbiao urging the Chinese government to keep its hands off people’s pocketbooks has attracted many supportive comments from...
Last week, the bodies of eight Chinese nationals were discovered off the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, after their boat capsized along a route often used by migrants attempting to reach the U.S. This is the latest example of an...
Explaining a meme often takes the wind out of a joke’s sails. Not so in this case. A recent Xi Jinping quote published by Xinhua, China’s official state news agency, has breathed new life into a long-running meme...
A number of recent events have brought renewed attention to the diminishing role of investigative journalists in China, and to the many impediments they face in their work. Following this month’s announcement of the elimination...
In the midst of a troubled economy and stock market rout, a People’s Daily Online article trumpeting a supposed nationwide “air of optimism” drew so many derisive comments last week that its related hashtag was censored on...
Two deadly school fires in China within the last week have led to a surge of online criticism of inadequate fire safety measures, as well as complaints about online censorship, government callousness, and a dearth of media...
At the close of 2023, CDT Chinese has compiled a series of year-end articles on various special topics, from sensitive words and censored articles to a human rights report and a “person of the year.” This post introduces the...
In recent weeks, several widely shared Chinese-language articles about economics and finance have been deleted by censors, and one prominent economist has had some of his social media accounts banned. This suppression of frank...
A brief, fiery essay excoriating totalitarianism has been censored on WeChat, and appears to have precipitated the closure of a Jiangxi-based current- and legal-affairs blog. First posted on the public WeChat account 法制江西 (Fǎzhì...
Chinese debate over Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has thus far been characterized by disinformation, nationalism, and heavy online censorship. This in turn has fueled fear...
With hundreds of documented (and censored) online sobriquets, Xi Jinping is arguably the most nicknamed leader in recent Chinese history. To stay ahead of the censors, online Chinese have long resorted to using homophones,...
The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Carry out a comprehensive cleanup of all content related to the band “Slap” (delete...
Sometimes, it’s the censors who imbue a joke with political power. Earlier this week, Weibo user @怪以德服人猫’s account was deleted for violating Weibo policy. Their likely violation? A joke, described by some netizens as “very...
The slogans that make up the “12 Core Socialist Values” are a common sight on Chinese streets, as they were—for a tumultuous few hours this weekend—on London’s famous Brick Lane, where a Chinese student at the Royal...
Mourning continues for eleven people—a coach and ten members of a girls’ volleyball team in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province—who perished when the roof of their junior high school gymnasium caved in on Sunday. Recent photos,...
On July 7, the Chinese Quora-like Q&A site Zhihu announced that users will no longer be able to post questions and answers anonymously. For existing content posted anonymously, users will be able to choose whether to keep it...
Less than a month after the conclusion of China’s hypercompetitive annual university entrance examination (“gaokao”), a satirical meme about an imaginary university has been banned on Weibo. The meme and its censorship reveal...
An antiquated Chinese political phrase enjoyed a brief revival when it was dusted off and used by some online commentators to describe the series of events known variously as the “Wagner Group...
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