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: Detained
Abey was arrested in July 2018 on suspicion of involvement in separatism and religious extremism, and his current whereabouts are unknown. A Communist Party official, Abey had worked in writing and publishing for forty years, serving as the director of…
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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…
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Status: Deceased
Leading dissident writer Zhang spent two years in a labor camp in the late ’90s. He was imprisoned again in September 2006 and was denied medical treatment until his release in June 2010. On December 31, 2010, he passed away…
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Status: Continued Harassment
Sheng is a Chinese-Canadian author, a PEN Canada member, and a prominent human rights activist. She wrote three books in 2001 and 2008, all of which were banned in China. She was a victim of identity theft in 2019 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
Experts
Nothing found.