Censors Quash Discussion of Xi’s Unanimous Re-Election as President
by Alexander Boyd | Mar 13, 2023
On March 10, China’s National People’s Congress, a rubber-stamp body that meets in full session once annually, re-elected Xi Jinping to a third five-year term as President. (His third term as General Secretary was already...
Read MoreInternational Women’s Day: An Inspirational Pop-up Store, a Feminist Taobao Shop, and Countering Online Harassment
by Cindy Carter | Mar 13, 2023
This year’s United Nations theme for March 8 International Women’s Day (IWD) is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” highlighting gender gaps in STEM education and careers, as well as the online harassment...
Read MoreWord(s) of the Week: “Chicken, You Are So Beautiful!” (鸡你太美, jī nĭ tài měi )
by Alexander Boyd | Mar 9, 2023
People’s Daily Online breathed new life into a stale meme this past week with an opinion piece titled “We Cannot Let Vulgar Online Slang Poison Our Children” that railed against online slang and vloggers. The piece singled out...
Read MoreEssays on the True Meaning of March 8, International Women’s Day
by Cindy Carter | Mar 9, 2023
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...
Read MoreFCCC: Authorities Used COVID Measures to “Strangle” Foreign Correspondents’ Coverage of China
by Alexander Boyd | Mar 8, 2023
The Foreign Correspondent Club of China’s 2022 media freedoms report, an annual assessment of the country’s reporting climate over the previous year, found that COVID prevention measures had “strangled” already diminished...
Read MoreCalling for Peace in Ukraine, China Courts Belarus, Russia
by Arthur Kaufman | Mar 2, 2023
Days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Xi Jinping declared a “no-limits” partnership with Vladimir Putin. At the one-year anniversary of the invasion, Xi’s diplomatic and military engagements display resolute...
Read MoreWord(s) of the Week: “White-haired Movement” (白发运动, Báifà Yùndòng)
by Cindy Carter | Mar 1, 2023
The “White-haired Movement” (白发运动, Báifà Yùndòng) refers to protests led by elderly and retired workers in Wuhan and Dalian in February 2023, and in Guangzhou in January 2023. The protesters were objecting to medical insurance...
Read MoreLithium Mining Crackdown Highlights Environmental Woes
by Alexander Boyd | Mar 1, 2023
A crackdown on rural Jiangxi’s lithium sector that might snarl global supply chains has cast a spotlight on the conflict between rural economic development and environmental protection. Earlier this week, investigation teams...
Read MoreTsinghua University Students Sue Ministry of Education Over Rainbow Pride Flag Case
by Cindy Carter | Feb 27, 2023
In a rare instance of a legal challenge to restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights, two Tsinghua University students filed a lawsuit last week against the Chinese Ministry of Education for refusing to consider their appeal against...
Read MoreNetizen Voices: “XXXX Is Good, XX Will Care For You When You’re Old”
by Alexander Boyd | Feb 27, 2023
A news article lauding the police work behind the arrest of a 64-year-old construction worker in Shanghai’s Pudong district instead drew attention to the financial insecurity experienced by China’s elderly workers. The...
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Unbounded by Lantern
CDT in the News
- FP China Brief – A Bad Week for Washington’s China Hawks
- CNN – China’s censorship and surveillance were already intense. AI is turbocharging those systems
- NED – China Digital Times: 2025 Democracy Award Honoree
- China Brief – Beijing’s War on ‘Negative Energy’
- China Media Project – Hubei Hit-and-Run Escapes the Headlines
- More...



