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
Poet and professor of Uyghur literature and philology Arslan Abdulla was taken in September 2018 alongside other Uyghur scholars. According to his former colleague at Xinjiand University, Abdulla is being held at a re-education camp, although his exact whereabouts are…
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Status: Imprisoned
Author and award-winning poet Rinchen disappeared in 2020 when he was contemplating writing a second book on Tibetan language and culture. His whereabouts were unknown for years until he was sentenced in September 2022 to four years in prison on…
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Status: Detained
Tashpolat Tiyip is a Uyghur academic and the former president of Xinjiang University. In 2017, Chinese authorities stopped Tiyip at Beijing airport as he was traveling to Germany and forcibly detained him. It is rumored that Tiyip was secretly sentenced…
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Status: Imprisoned
Gendun Lhundrub, a former monk and cultural activist, is known for his online writings supporting free expression. In December 2020, he was detained by Chinese authorities, and for over a year, his whereabouts remained unknown. In June 2022, reports revealed…
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