When China’s flagship official newspaper introduces a dating app and starts hosting singles mixers for troops and government workers, you know the demographic issue has entered a new phase.

At Lingua Sinica, @daliaparete.bsky.social interviews Emeka Umejei about his new book on PRC media partnerships in Africa and the training programs that China conducts for local journalists, enlarging its footprint and taking over space abandoned by Western media organizations.

As Greece deepens its ties with China, from Piraeus port to Belt and Road, expert Plamen TOnchev sits down with Lingua Sinica to examine how content deals, diaspora outlets, and polished influencers are quietly shaping the country's information landscape. lingua-sinica.org/borrowing-bo...

Big news on the transnational repression beat: RightsCon, the world's biggest digital human rights conference, has been CANCELED just days before it was set to begin in Lusaka, Zambia. The government of Zambia — which signed an agreement with China on April 24 — canceled it:

As Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez makes his fourth visit to Beijing in four years, scholar Shiany Pérez-Cheng, sitting down with Lingua Sinica, examines how media partnerships and China-affiliated groups have shaped the country's information. lingua-sinica.org/an-open-door...

TW: Sexual violence "In a patriarchal society, she lives in a constant state of unconscious fear, in both daylight and nighttime, fueled by daily gendered experiences... and news of sexual violence committed by men, particularly from the military, police & government officials"

China's consulate in Strasbourg pressured a French theater and city officials to cancel a Taiwanese play that simulates the opening of a Taiwanese embassy. The theater didn't budge. Read the latest from Lingua Sinica: linguasinica.substack.com/p/the-play-c...

New Intersections is live! This month: China tells women having babies is a patriotic duty; Bu Xiaohua's captor walks free; young Chinese women are quietly doing the math on marriage; and Taiwan's Gen Z women are learning the price of speaking up. Read here: linguasinica.substack.com/p/chinas-pro...

"Yang’s case raises serious questions about how state media from the People’s Republic of China operate in Europe and how European governments should respond."

“RTHK has now fully retreated from its public mission. Far from defending editorial independence, its executives bow to officials in Beijing, surrendering RTHK’s once-proud commitment to impartial journalism for Hong Kong audiences in favor of state narratives” lingua-sinica.org/letters-from...

While the West celebrates a new cultural watershed in male romance, Boy's Love has been a mature, multi-billion dollar industry across Asia for decades. linguasinica.substack.com/p/heated-riv...

1/4 New from @rferl.org.web.brid.gy on Afghanistan's media landscape has collapsed since the Taliban takeover. Hundreds of outlets shut down, thousands of journalists lost work. But Chinese state media is thriving—and it's strategic. Here's what's happening 🧵 www.rferl.org/a/china-tali...

"Are You Dead Yet?" just became China's #1 app. The name sparked heated debate—but 125 million people living alone might need it anyway. lingua-sinica.org/are-you-dead...

The latest feature, written by Xiao Bing, from our colleagues doing great work over at Tian Jian (田間). linguasinica.substack.com/p/chinas-inv...

At Lingua Sinica, @daliaparete.bsky.social talks with journalist Nop Vy about the increased pressure on media in Cambodia since 2017, how Cambodia Journalists Alliance Association presses on, and the role of citizen reporting in making positive changes happen despite restrictions.

1/3 Chinese drama "Summer Rose" hit 3 billion views in 8 days. Beautiful cinematography, symbolic imagery, and a gentle male lead who seems to be the ideal partner to ask for. Sounds progressive, right?

Intersections newsletter is out! We look at internalized discrimination in Taiwan's gay community, Hong Kong's growing voyeurism crisis, China's "sweet economy" marriage vouchers, and much more. Read here: linguasinica.substack.com/p/chinas-wom...

Our Chinese-language sister publication Tian Jian (田間), specializing in reporting on issues related to global Chinese-language media, just went live with their website. Check it out here: tian-jian.org

2/2 Don't miss Intersections—our Lingua Sinica bulletin spotlighting marginalized communities in Chinese media. Women's rights, queer voices, disability issues & more. Subscribe today: linguasinica.substack.com

1/2 A must-read report from MERICS on how China is navigating its low birth rate—with early input from CMP's @daliaparete.bsky.social merics.org/en/report/wh...

After a 10-year hiatus, Malaysia's Dato' Seri Lee Tian Hock Journalism Awards returned, honoring Chinese-language reporters amid calls for AI ethics guidelines, copyright protections, and news payment systems to sustain quality journalism in the digital age. lingua-sinica.org/awards-return/

What does journalism education look like when the profession exists to maintain regime stability rather than hold power accountable? China's latest national journalism forum reveals a system designed to ensure Party control flows seamlessly from classroom to newsroom. bit.ly/474nY4D

1/3 The focus today at the Global Leaders' Meeting in Beijing was supposed to be women. But Xi Jinping and the Party were the real focus. What has actually changed for Chinese feminists since 1995? Read on.

1/3 Last June, in one of China’s latest moves into Uganda’s media space, the “Love Beijing Night” audiovisual initiative launched—broadcasting Chinese TV dramas packed with CCP narratives. All documented at our Lingua Sinica platform: bit.ly/46QJpGg

This month's Intersections newsletter is out! We look at harassment allegations in Taiwan's entertainment industry, a controversial campus birth in China that sparked national debate, and Hong Kong's rejection of same-sex marriage recognition. Read here: linguasinica.substack.com/p/power-hara...

1/4 While you were scrolling, China was busy... Aug 31: Xinhua-Azerbaijan media deal; Sept 7: 120+ diaspora media attend the 12th World Chinese Forum, Kunming; Sept 10: Cross-strait symposium, Shenyang. All tracked on our Lingua Sinica platform: lingua-sinica.org

“There was a common understanding that male reporters could drink with these officials until they became like sworn brothers — after some chest-thumping and shoulder-patting, they might receive news tips or key documents.”

Curious to know how Chinese-language media are engaging in Kenya? Here's a recent example of a content-sharing agreement. To learn more, visit our new website Lingua Sinica: lingua-sinica.org

Is Xi’s Grip Holding? Despite speculation about the waning media presence of China’s top leaders, our study of headlines in the People’s Daily suggests his dominance remains largely intact. chinamediaproject.org/2025/06/26/i...

The authoritarian actions of the Trump administration have added jet fuel to one of the Chinese Communist Party’s most enduring external propaganda frames — that the United States is fundamentally hypocritical when it comes to rights and freedoms. chinamediaproject.org/2025/06/16/a...

How is language important? Media expert Sriparna Pathak discusses how China sponsors Indian journalists to visit Tibet, who return calling it "Xizang." The terminology normalizes not just China's sovereignty over Tibet but also Chinese territorial claims in dispute with India.

A Chinese state television exposé last month claimed to unmask exploitative dating apps, but it also exposed how cyclical media campaigns serve official narratives in China’s tightly controlled information landscape. chinamediaproject.org/2025/05/13/p...

In the wake of a deadly boat accident, state media have moved to control the narrative, following a playbook created in 2008. But one Shanghai news source broke ranks with a story that raised uncomfortable questions about negligence and ignored safety warnings. chinamediaproject.org/2025/05/07/b...

Two years ago, I heard that Taiwan's govt had unearthed surveillance files from the secret police of its authoritarian era. They were finally becoming open to the public, nearly four decades after Taiwan's democratisation. I wanted to see what was inside: www.economist.com/1843/2025/05...

One in three South Korean women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once during their lifetime, a government survey showed. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

Our April Intersections bulletin is out! We explore Netflix's "Adolescence" impact in Taiwan, China's shifting views on sexual consent, grassroots feminism in small cities and much more!

The latest edition of the Lingua Sinica newsletter is out. Lots to soak in, from Chinese combatants in Ukraine to tariffs — and even otherworldly inflation in the world of "fake ghost money." linguasinica.substack.com/p/lingua-sin...

“We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. “ www.harvard.edu/president/ne...

The story is up on the China Media Project website too: chinamediaproject.org/2025/04/10/t...

China's leadership has launched another round of anti-corruption campaigning. But its use personal shaming and action posing is a reminder that this is about political theater and loyalty tests, not about real institutional reform. chinamediaproject.org/2025/04/10/c...

If you want to know more about how the #MeToo movement has influenced journalism in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, read the translation of my brilliant colleague Hsiao Fan's article.