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.
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 leader Xi Jinping has overseen an extensive crackdown on free expression that has included attempted cultural and linguistic destruction targeting Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Mongolians and other ethnic minorities elevating to potential crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, and the crushing of civil and political rights in Hong Kong.
As China’s economic and political strength has increased, the Chinese Communist Party has also expanded its censorship apparatus overseas to try and limit expression about China beyond its borders, engage in transnational repression against exiles and the diaspora, and erode international human rights norms.
News
Individual Cases
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Status: Imprisoned
Award-winning academic, researcher, and professor at Minzu and Xinjiang Universities, Habibullah is serving a 15-year sentence for unknown charges. His arrest and imprisonment are suspected to be tied to the Chinese crusade on Uyghur intellectuals, as his area of expertise…
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Status: Continued Harassment
Ai has been beaten, detained, and harassed by the government for over 10 years. Previously subject to a travel ban, Ai left China in 2015 to focus his activism on Europe’s refugee crisis; though the Chinese state continues to pressure…
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Status: Detained
Xiang is a blogger who created a WeChat group where has been posting politically sensitive commentary and expressing concerns about citizens’ rights since 2017. In 2019, he was stopped at the airport, prevented from leaving the country, and his passport…
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Status: Imprisoned
Chen, a pro-democracy activist and writer, was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison in 2016 after being found guilty of “inciting to subvert state power.” Since the start of his imprisonment, he has lost four teeth and…
Reports & Research
Addressing Beijing’s assault on free expression and defending human rights standards globally is a key priority.
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Writing on the Wall
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Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing
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Forbidden Feeds
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Splintered Speech
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Darkened Screen
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Censorship and Conscience
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Threatened Harbor
