China Digital Times

Two years after Peng Lifa’s courageous one-man protest on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge against Xi Jinping and the CCP’s autocratic rule, his whereabouts are still unknown, although it is widely presumed that he remains under detention. During his October 13, 2022 protest, Peng shouted slogans through a megaphone and hung two banners from Sitong Bridge that […]

In a remarkable interview, a censor for one of China’s biggest search engines described what gets deleted from the Chinese internet and how—as well as their perspective on the morality of their work. The interview was published by Mang Mang, an independent Chinese-language magazine that publishes on Substack. It is rare for a censorship worker […]

Chinese internet users are taking issue with a recent announcement that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and Ministry of Education are trying to standardize online speech by cracking down on the use of “irregular and uncivilized language and text” appearing on the homepages, trending search lists, and suggested content sections of major online platforms. […]

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Caving to online male backlash that included a threatened boycott, Chinese e-commerce giant JD announced that it would scrap its November 11 “Singles Day” shopping festival collaboration with comedian Yang Li (杨笠, Yáng Lì). Yang, a stand-up comic and comedy screenwriter known for her iconic jabs at the male ego (e.g. “How can he look […]

Harbin, Street Portrait Artists, by Jeremy Thompson (CC BY 2.0)

The specter of arrest has made Halloween extra spooky this year. In Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuhan, Halloween revelry has been marred by strict police curfews, the detention of costume-clad partygoers, and bans on organized festivities. Meanwhile, censors have been vigorously erasing discussion of the Halloween crackdown from social media. The repressive atmosphere is a major […]

Photo: Untitled (Pumpkin Carving by Chinese Panda Caretakers in Chengdu), by Gina Koo

The Shenzhou-19 spaceship carrying three of China’s youngest taikonauts successfully launched and docked with China’s Tiangong space station this week. The mission follows the return of China’s sample-bearing lunar probe from the far side of the moon in June. Both missions have highlighted the momentum of China’s space program, which has instilled pride among the […]

A murderous rampage in Zhuhai, Guangdong that left 35 dead and scores wounded was met with a now all-too-familiar refrain on the Chinese internet: “Xianzhong” is back. Zhang Xianzhong (张献忠, Zhāng Xiànzhōng), a Ming-era peasant rebel notorious for his mythical bloodlust, has become an online by-word for “revenge against society” attacks against innocents by disgruntled […]