Photo: Mini fire station, by QuantFoto
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/photo-mini-fire-station-by-quantfoto/
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China Digital Times
@cdt@mastodon.world
mastodon 4.7.3Berkeley-based bilingual site posting news and translations about China, with an emphasis on human rights and freedom of expression. Not state media.
366 Followers
1 Following
29 Posts
Joined May 05, 2023
Amid Hong Kong Book Fair, Police Raid Two More Independent Bookstores, Arrest Five Booksellers
"A woman with her hands cuffed behind her back, wearing a t-shirt declaring 'I am a bookstore clerk,' held her head high as she was escorted into a police car."
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/amid-hong-kong-book-fair-police-raid-two-more-independent-bookstores-arrest-five-booksellers/
Translation: Euphemism and Censorship Surround Guangxi Flooding, Dam Breach News
"'A gap appeared' isn’t my personal phrasing; it’s the term used by every [Chinese] media outlet in all subsequent reporting on the dam breach."
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/translation-euphemism-and-censorship-surround-guangxi-flooding-dam-breach-news/
Minitrue: 718 Leaked Directives from Video Platform LeTV
"Selections illustrating key themes, from Xi Jinping to celebrities and foreign affairs to protests at home, are translated below." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/minitrue-718-leaked-directives-from-video-platform-letv/
Translation: "How Do These Comments Break the Rules?"
"What makes me emo is this sense of powerlessness to know what breaks the rules … Censor all you want; I'll keep writing." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/translation-how-do-these-comments-break-the-rules/
Cloudflare – 2026 Cloudflare
report on cyberattacks
against civil society
https://cf-assets.www.cloudflare.com/dzlvafdwdttg/5YmIHaAURvy8ZKjJ1CcQo6/1335a737054c44915ace715348e62697/BDES-9187_Cyberattacks_against_civil_society_Project_Galileo_Anniversary_Report.pdf
Translation: How Tolerant is China's Internet?
"Those who teach you to glorify suffering are the very ones who caused it. The powerful never complain that life is unfair, because they created that unfairness." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/06/translation-how-tolerant-is-chinas-internet/
Translations: As Evergrande’s Xu Jiayin Pleads Guilty, “Behind the Scenes Are Too Many Uncomfortable Truths That Can Never Be Fully Examined”
"The many others who gorged themselves at Evergrande's trough will be let off lightly. After all, they were merely accessories [to Xu’s crimes], and thanks to friends in very high places, they are untouchable." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/04/translations-as-evergrandes-xu-jiayin-pleads-guilty-behind-the-scenes-are-too-many-uncomfortable-truths-that-can-never-be-fully-examined/
Replying to
"Recently, a series of internal notices shared online and collected by China Digital Times has raised concerns that these ladders [VPNs and 'airport' services] might soon be forcibly removed."
Replying to
"One document from a regional content-delivery provider [...] directs customers to remove any signs of VPNs, proxies, or other tools used to bypass restrictions. Those who do not comply will face immediate disconnection, data loss, and no refunds."
Replying to
"The memo seems to be part of a broader trend, not just an isolated overreaction by one company. Other providers have reported issuing similar warnings."
Replying to
"Not long afterward, I read an article about Li Xiaoliang, a practicing lawyer in Nanjing, who discovered that Baidu’s 'AI Smart Answer' feature returned the false claim that 'lawyer Li Xiaoliang was sentenced to three years in prison,' accompanied by a photo of Li wearing his lawyer’s robes."
Replying to
"China Digital Times reported that viral videos of roiling floodwaters pouring through the Liulan breach were widely shared and then deleted, while official coverage adopted euphemistic language and softened questions about reservoir management."
Translation: Religion and Red Lines in Chinese Online Literature
"Webnovel moderation keeps getting stricter. Don’t gamble on 'artistic license' allowing you to cross religious red lines." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/06/translation-religion-and-red-lines-in-chinese-online-literature/
Translations: On Foreign and Domestic Media and "Man-Made Problems Lurking Behind Natural Disasters"
"All of this ought to be common sense by now. But here we are in 2026, and we’re having to reiterate it yet again, which is truly lamentable." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/translations-on-foreign-and-domestic-media-and-man-made-problems-lurking-behind-natural-disasters/
Translations: "Sometimes Forgetting Is as Terrible as the Disaster." Censored Reflections on the Deadly Zhengzhou Floods, Five Years On
"Forgetting often means that an essentially identical man-made disaster occurs again; that an accident investigation report that came close to the truth becomes just a blank piece of paper." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/translations-sometimes-forgetting-is-as-terrible-as-the-disaster-censored-reflections-on-the-deadly-zhengzhou-floods-five-years-on/
Translation: No Scaling the Great Firewall in the Library
"It has so far been verified that the telephone numbers of those involved include: 155XXXX9172; 197XXXX2090; and 155XXXX7044." https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/translation-no-scaling-the-great-firewall-in-the-library/
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for June 2026
Tiananmen anniversary; animal torture protests; the growth of "flexible employment"; "siphon-style enforcement"; and the state of Chinese soccer https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/cdts-404-deleted-content-archive-summary-for-june-2026/
Freedom House – TNR Watch: Cyberattacks as a Tactic of Digital Transnational Repression
https://freedomhouse.org/article/tnr-watch-cyberattacks-tactic-digital-transnational-repression
Translation: Censored Commentary on Beijing’s Drone Storage Ban
"The logic behind this new rule is to move the security perimeter from the sky right down to the level of equipment possession."
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/translation-censored-commentary-on-beijings-drone-storage-ban/