it's an insane resources—if you've got a question about basically ANY major story on the Chinese internet/society/politics, there is a page on CDT contextualizing it with links to original source material. It's such a must-read (and don't forget to click into the 中文 site too: chinadigitaltimes.net)

Our new column What China's Thinking is underpinned by the work of my former colleagues at @chinadigitaltimes.net The superlative Chinese team & my friends/role models @samuelwa.de @cindycarter.bsky.social have contextualized so much of recent Chinese history chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/27/w...

This roundup of 2025's most sensitive words (courtesy of CDT Chinese editors and @samuelwa.de) includes some new and increasingly abstruse Xi Jinping nicknames: i in ing, 123, 羽哥, 长生不老, 150岁, 新加坡, and more.

From WeChat account Mulan’s Worldview: “The tourism industry in China is a chamberpot [...], picked up when needed, and cast aside when it is not. When it is needed to burnish political achievements, tourism is treated as a key driver of GDP growth, but at other times, it becomes a disposable tool."

Does "reincarnation" mean that the bans are no big deal? No. Porosity is a feature, not a bug (see link). As "Du Fu" writes above, bans mean deleted archives and severed connections. They serve as a deterrent to others. And the authorities can always come for you offline if they feel the need to.

Some banned users number their new accounts. Another went from "Silent Observer" to "New Silence," "New New Silence," and now "New New New Silence." Another approach: "Du Fu’s life took him from Shihao Village to Huanhua Creek, and on to Baidi Fortress. So now there’s Du Fu of Baidi Fortress."

"Du Fu wrote 'The state broken, its mountains and rivers remain,' and 'Crimson gates reek with meat and ale, while on the streets are bones of the frozen dead.' Certain people would have called this 'negative energy.' But a thousand years on, it's positive energy that schoolchildren learn by heart."

Some interesting reflections on the fire from mainland voices. Some mourn Hong Kong's "mainlandisation," as well as the dead; others still see and envy some relative openness there. One is very annoyed with people suggesting that the fire was started by Japanese spies.

"When major accidents like this have happened in the past, we’ve always heard: 'Now is the time for all-out rescue efforts. Please don’t analyze causes, assign blame, or speculate about the disaster.' Those who did these things were accused of hindering the response, or harboring ulterior motives."

(That was actually his response to the second ban, when New Silence, formerly Silent Observer and now New New New Silence, became New New Silence.)

Editor of account recently revived after a third ban: "What would you do if years of painstaking effort were wiped out in an instant? Cry and wail and curse your fate? Sink into dejection and give up? No. The late Ming historian Tan Qian had an inspiring answer: count to four, and start again."

Transnational repression at the IndieChina Film Festival: Transnational repression at the IndieChina Film Festival: open.substack.com/pub/donaldcl...

Come for the zesty array of censorship evasion techniques, stay for the tiny thumbnail of an “I Took Part In The Reciprocal Tariff War of April, 2025 And All I Got Was This Lousy Mug” mug.

“Q: What’s your opinion on public account posts getting shot down? A: I have no opinion, and feel nothing but gratitude toward the public account platform.”

Netizen Voices: “Stop Complaining, Hu Xijin. You Played a Part in This.” "Hu asking why everyone's so quiet is like the head palace eunuch asking a junior eunuch, 'Hey, how come your equipment is only good for taking a leak?'" chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/10/neti...

Translations on Chikungunya and Mosquito Eradication in Guangdong: “Hand Over Your Keys or We'll Pick the Locks!” "As Hu Shih once said: 'Maintain a high degree of vigilance against the phrase "at any price." Because one day, you or I might become that "price" they speak of.'"

"We believe: Faith is not a crime. Worship is not a crime. Prayer is not a crime."—Zion Church on detention of dozens of members

The Guardian Interviews Chinese Fighters for Ukraine. "Like many Chinese volunteers, Tim is motivated by a combination of sympathy for the Ukrainian cause and increasing despair at the direction of his own country."

Includes strong commentary from Bitter Winter: "The CCP isn’t just watching your prayers—it’s editing them … Religion isn’t just Sinicized. It’s sanitized, standardized, and subordinated. And if you’re wondering who’s really being worshipped, just look at the podium" bitterwinter.org/red-is-the-n...

A lot of good stuff in here. One thing is that Chinese anxiety about how its education system compares with other countries feels strikingly parallel to other countries' anxieties about how their education systems compare with China's.

Translations: “How Can a Country That Blocks the Nobel Website Hope to Win a Nobel Prize?” "To sum up: if the winner was backed by the Chinese government, it’s the correct decision; if not, it’s using the Nobel Prize to fan anti-China sentiment."

"I truly don’t know what kind of sentiment would lead certain people to compare the sight of a massive nighttime traffic jam at some highway toll gates with a 'galaxy of glittering stars.' All the scene really stirs in me is a headache, backache, and the sensation of an uncomfortably full bladder."

"Topics targeted included multiplatform bans on influencers; Nepal protests; labor rights for delivery riders; pressure on citizen journalism; problems in official news coverage; economic prospects and precarity; domestic violence; a hazardous waste accident; official misconduct; & patriotic cinema"

China's online influencers are finding it harder than ever to navigate the "red lines": "[Recent state-media] criticisms of Zhang Xuefeng [...are] no different from the Cultural Revolution-era practices of 'criticism for the sake of criticism' and 'elevating all issues to the level of politics.'"

Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.

China's online influencers are finding it harder than ever to navigate the "red lines": "[Recent state-media] criticisms of Zhang Xuefeng [...are] no different from the Cultural Revolution-era practices of 'criticism for the sake of criticism' and 'elevating all issues to the level of politics.'"

A nostalgic look back at the Chengfu Road (成府路) bookstalls and bookstores of Beijing's university district : chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/7214...

Chinese internet users express frustration over the de-platforming of some frugal and very laid-back gamers. One online comment: "You can’t be a slacker, can’t be materialistic, you just have to keep working and grinding away. [...] All we can do is wait until they grind us down to nothing."

“I’m emotionally shellshocked right now,” said one professor in the Texas Tech system. “What does it say about academic freedom? It says we don’t have it.” The professor spoke by phone from the inside of a car to avoid being overheard by colleagues. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

Chinese internet users express frustration over the de-platforming of some frugal and very laid-back gamers. One online comment: "You can’t be a slacker, can’t be materialistic, you just have to keep working and grinding away. [...] All we can do is wait until they grind us down to nothing."

Update, h/t @cindycarter.bsky.social:

A nostalgic look back at the Chengfu Road (成府路) bookstalls and bookstores of Beijing's university district : chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/7214...

Police in China detained a man for comments critical of President Xi Jinping’s military parade, highlighting the ruling Communist Party’s intolerance of dissent. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

CDT's full translation (by @samuelwa.de‬) of a personal essay detailing indie filmmaker Guo Zhenming's interactions with a local cadre after leasing an apartment in Urumqi bsky.app/profile/chin...

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we, the family of Andrew West, confirm his peaceful passing on 10th July 2025. The BabelStone legacy will be continued by colleagues and friends. corp.unicode.org/pipermail/un...

Melissa Chan on the protagonists: "I put everything I learned while reporting in China and thereafter into this work in different ways. [....T]here was far less transposing of our respective identities into the characters and far more our general presence and experiences expressed...in this story."

Badiucao on the novel's visual style: "[Taking back our language] extends to the vocabulary for visual expression. [...F]or me, it is almost an obligation to [...convey] how traditional Chinese forms should not be associated with propaganda, but can actually advocate for freedom."

I highly recommend CDT editor @samuelwa.de's recent interview with Badiucao and Melissa Chan on their graphic novel "You Must Take Part in Revolution":

Interview: @badiucao.bsky.social and @melissakchan.bsky.social on Their Graphic Novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution

We got lots of great questions from @chinadigitaltimes.net, including how we picked the title of our graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. Here's @badiucao.bsky.social's response. 🔗 Read the full interview here: bit.ly/cdt-revolution

I highly recommend CDT editor @samuelwa.de's recent interview with Badiucao and Melissa Chan on their graphic novel "You Must Take Part in Revolution":

Nut Brother’s Latest Detention Highlights Performance Artists' Precarity

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CDT Quote of the Week: chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/07/onli...

Online Backlash Over “Sexual Nationalism” and Privacy Violations After Dalian Polytechnic University Tries to Expel Student "There’s an implicit equation here: foreign man sleeps with a Chinese woman and then insults her online = humiliation of the Chinese people. It’s classic victim-blaming."

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“This escalation comes amid a tightening censorship regime inside China and dwindling international support for digital rights work due to foreign aid cuts." hongkongfp.com/2025/07/17/c...

Thoughtful piece by my CDT colleague @arthurkaufman.bsky.social‬ about a young woman at risk of being expelled from Dalian Polytechnic for what the university termed “improper contact with a foreigner” that “undermined the national dignity” of China:

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