The Other China 強姦民意   The lawyer Chen Qiushi (陳秋實, 1985-) was one of the autonomous citizen-journalists who attempted to report on the outbreak of Covid-19 in February 2020. As Sebastian Veg noted at the time, Chen ‘already enjoyed something of a reputation as a self-proclaimed independent investigator, in particular as a result of a fledgling attempt to cover the 2019 Hong Kong protests for Mainland viewers.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium Appendix XL 我不相信   Two of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers were sentenced on Monday [10 April 2023] to 14 years and 12 years in prison, some of the lengthiest such sentences in recent years and an indication of how the space for expression has evaporated under China’s leader, Xi Jinping.… Read

The Other China 靈鷲峰   The Fifth of April 2023 marks the day for ‘sweeping the tombs’ 掃墓, a festival on which respect is paid to loved ones and forebears. Known since ancient times as Qingming 清明, ‘Clear and Bright’, the festival usually falls on the Eighth Day of the Third Month of the lunar calendar.… Read

The Other China 冷艷寒香   Lao Shu is the nom de plume of Liu Shuyong (劉樹勇, 1962-), a Beijing-based artist, writer, critic and professor in communications. His artistic voice is unique and personal, its tenor, whimsy and profundity evoke what for decades we have called ‘The Other China’ — a cultural noosphere that is as undeniably local as it is universal.… Read

The Other China   In February 2023, Teacher Grey 格雷老師 Géléi lǎoshī, an American musician with fluent Chinese and a winsome manner, released ‘Chinese Boys, Don’t Masturbate Anymore’, a humorous song with a political punch.… Read