Online Reactions to Official Pronouncement on China’s Sharp Population Decline
by Arthur Kaufman | Jan 17, 2023
On Tuesday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that the country’s population had declined for the first time in 60 years. This marks a pivotal moment for what now may no longer be the world’s most populous country,...
Read MoreThe Year 2022 in Censorship: A Selection from the “404 Archive”
by Alexander Boyd | Jan 12, 2023
The ten censored essays collected below are a first draft of an unauthorized history of the extraordinary year 2022, compiled by CDT Chinese editors. Toward the end of the year, discontent over the zero-COVID policy burgeoned...
Read MoreQin Gang’s Visit to Ethiopia Buttressed By Twitter Spam and Local Media
by Arthur Kaufman | Jan 12, 2023
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is currently on a five-nation tour of Africa as part of his first official overseas trip in his new position. His itinerary includes Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt, continuing a...
Read MoreTranslation: “Ten Questions for Central Government Policymakers” (Attributed to Ma Xiaoli)
by Cindy Carter | Jan 11, 2023
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...
Read MoreLi Wenliang’s Wailing Wall, November-December 2022: “Zero-COVID is Over, but I’m Afraid to Go Out.”
by Cindy Carter | Jan 6, 2023
Nearly three years 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, dreams, worries,...
Read MoreXi Maintains Close Ties with Russia as War in Ukraine Enters a New Year
by Arthur Kaufman | Jan 5, 2023
As Russia’s war against Ukraine spills into 2023, China continues its policy of “pro-Russian neutrality”—a balancing act that affords China enough diplomatic and economic cover to tacitly support Russian aggression, but not so...
Read MoreCDT Editors’ Picks: The Best of 2022
by Cindy Carter | Jan 4, 2023
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...
Read MoreMinitrue: Publishing Articles on “Pandemic-fighting Spirit” is Prohibited
by Cindy Carter | Jan 4, 2023
The following censorship instructions have been leaked and distributed online. 9:23 P.M. [Notice from the Science and Technology Department] All Teachers: In response to the directive from the Provincial Party Committee...
Read MoreChina To Open Its Borders, Marking End of Zero-COVID Isolation
by Alexander Boyd | Jan 3, 2023
China will drop quarantine requirements for international travelers starting January 8, 2023. The government also announced a host of other travel-easing measures. The changes effectively end China’s three-year period of...
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CDT in the News
- South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (Vietnamese translation of CDT post)- Sự Bất Đối Xứng Trong Quan Hệ Nga-Trung Và Bên Hưởng Lợi
- Discourse Power – Jan. 23, 2023 Newsletter
- Sinocism newsletter (1/18/2023) – Xi’s Spring Festival video chat; Han Zheng to be the next VP?; Janet Yellen and Liu He meet; Wow mess
- The Economist (Drum Tower newsletter) – What our journalists are reading
- RFA – China slaps exit ban on wife of shuttered Shanghai political bookstore owner
- More...