China
The Chinese government is the world’s leading jailer of writers and public intellectuals. Writers, journalists, bloggers, and creative artists face censorship, harassment, imprisonment, and enforced disappearance because of their writing or creative expression.
The extensive crackdown on freedom of expression includes the crushing of civil and political rights in Hong Kong and attempts to erase the culture and language of Mongolians, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other ethnic minorities living in China and its autonomous regions, elevating to potential crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
What You Need to Know
More than 100 writers are currently behind bars on politicized charges in China. The majority were jailed for online expression that was critical of official policies or expressed pro-democracy viewpoints.
China’s technological and legal infrastructure enables the government to censor, monitor, and control all digital information that flows within, and into and out of the country, especially in autonomous regions.
The Chinese government has expanded its censorship apparatus overseas to try and limit expression about China beyond its borders, engaging in transnational repression against exiles and the diaspora.
News
Individual Cases
-
Status: Conditional Release
Zhao was released from detention but remains confined to house arrest as of October 2019 after publishing poems entitled “Dark Night Journey” and “Mongolian Grassland” that criticized China’s treatment of its ethnic minorities. He has since remained incommunicado, with reports…
-
Status: Imprisoned
Qasim Sidiq was detained by authorities in March 2017, and his whereabouts remained unknown until nearly four years later, when his detention was confirmed. According to a Radio Free Asia source, his song lyrics from over 15 years ago were…
-
Hai is a journalist and online activist. He was arrested and forcibly disappeared in February 2023 after expressing support for the “white-hair-movement,” an elderly group protesting health care reforms. In April 2023, Hai was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking…
-
Status: Detained
Chai was detained on March 21, 2019 for publishing a politically sensitive article on Red Reference, a magazine where he worked as an editor. He was held for six months under residential surveillance before being formally arrested in September 2019.…
Reports & Research
Addressing Beijing’s assault on free expression and defending human rights standards globally is a key priority.
-
“Save Our Mother Tongue”
-
Writing on the Wall
-
Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing
-
Forbidden Feeds
-
Splintered Speech
-
Darkened Screen
-
Censorship and Conscience
-
Threatened Harbor
PEN America Experts
-
Erika Nguyen
Erika Nguyen is a senior manager in the PEN/Barbey Freedom…