Cindy Carter

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.” Two posts from nationalist pundit and former Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin criticizing what he describes as a “collective silence” on Chinese social media have sparked intense discussion on Ch...

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!” Public backlash has forced local officials in Pengyuan—a community in the city of Jiangmen, Guangdong province—to rescind an order requiring residents to surrender their keys so that sanitation worker...

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"—Zion Church on Detention of Dozens of Members We believe: Faith is not a crime. Worship is not a crime. Prayer is not a crime. [Chinese] This quote highlighted by CDT Chinese this week is drawn from a statement by the Zion (锡安 Xī’ān) Church follo...

"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 The involvement of Chinese nationals in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine received widespread media attention earlier this year. This included an extended interview by Chinese journalist Chai Jing ...

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?” The news that two more Japanese scientists were awarded Nobel Prizes in the natural sciences has been met with considerable consternation on the Chinese internet. Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University ...

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.'"

界面文化｜豆瓣书店，19年青春散场 “我们没有坚持，坚持是需要资本的，我们开不下去就立刻不开了。”邓雨虹坐在店内，一边说着话，一边忙着手里的活。在取悦自己和顺应潮流中间，夫妻俩似乎已做出最终的选择。近日，书店积压已久的困境走到了某种临界点。他们即将关店的消息也很快扩散开来。

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."

Texas Tech Moves to Limit Academic Discussion to 2 Genders

“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:

界面文化｜豆瓣书店，19年青春散场 “我们没有坚持，坚持是需要资本的，我们开不下去就立刻不开了。”邓雨虹坐在店内，一边说着话，一边忙着手里的活。在取悦自己和顺应潮流中间，夫妻俩似乎已做出最终的选择。近日，书店积压已久的困境走到了某种临界点。他们即将关店的消息也很快扩散开来。

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

China Detains Man for ‘Defamatory’ Remarks About Xi’s Parade 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.

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."

Interview: Badiucao and Melissa Chan on Their Graphic Novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution You Must Take Part in Revolution is a graphic novel by Badiucao, political cartoonist and former CDT contributor, and Melissa Chan, a journalist who in 2012 became the first reporter to be expelled fr...

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 and Melissa Chan on Their Graphic Novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution You Must Take Part in Revolution is a graphic novel by Badiucao, political cartoonist and former CDT contributor, and Melissa Chan, a journalist who in 2012 became the first reporter to be expelled fr...

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

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."