People in Beijing, China. Editorial credit: Editorial credit: wonderlustpicstravel / Shutterstock.com. / Shutterstock.com.

China

China’s authoritarian regime has become increasingly repressive in recent years. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to tighten control over all aspects of life and governance, including the state bureaucracy, the media, online speech, religious practice, universities, businesses, and civil society associations, and it has undermined an earlier series of modest rule-of-law reforms. The CCP leader and state president, Xi Jinping, has consolidated personal power to a degree not seen in China for decades. Human rights activists and lawyers continue to speak out, though at great personal cost.

Freedom in the World 2023

Freedom in the World — China Country Report

China is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2023, Freedom House's annual study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide.

Latest on China

China_Dissent_Monitor_bank_protest

China Dissent Monitor

The China Dissent Monitor was created in response to the information gap resulting from media restrictions in the People’s Republic of China and risks associated with collecting information from within the country about dissent and protest. The project prioritizes capturing offline collective action in public spaces.

Hong Kong Protestors

Hong Kong Media Bulletin

The Hong Kong Media Bulletin is a monthly email newsletter that provides unique insight into media freedom and freedom of expression issues in Hong Kong, drawing on both English and Chinese-language sources. Each month, the newsletter features cutting edge analysis of the latest trends in Hong Kong as the territory is being vastly transformed by the Beijing-imposed National Security Law

BGMI cover cropped

Beijing's Global Media Influence

Beijing's Global Media Influence examines how the Chinese government is accelerating its efforts to influence news coverage and commentary in democracies worldwide. Rich in data and reporting, BGMI's global and country-specific reports detail the Chinese Communist Party's motives and tactics, and measure how effectively democratic countries are pushing back against this influence.

 

China Media Bulletin

Sign up for the China Media Bulletin

The China Media Bulletin is a monthly email newsletter that provides unique insight on censorship, media freedom, and internet freedom issues related to the People's Republic of China, drawing on both English and Chinese-language sources.

The newsletter features cutting edge analysis of censorship, surveillance and tech issues in China, including: 

  • Featured analysis of a major development or trend
  • Short news updates on the media, netizen activism, and legal changes
  • Spotlight on popular censored images
  • Tracking the Chinese government’s growing media influence around the world
  • Ways to take action
     
BGMI cover cropped

Freedom House's Report on Beijing's Global Media Influence

Our latest report, Beijing’s Global Media InfluenceAuthoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience, offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of Beijing’s global media influence and the ways in which democracies are responding. It draws on media investigations, interviews, scholarly publications, Chinese government sources, and on-the-ground research by local analysts in 30 countries, and includes in-depth case studies for each country, appraising the scale and scope of CCP media influence efforts and the strength of the local response. The report also offers recommendations on how democracies can improve their performance.

 

FOTN COVER

Freedom on the Net — China Country Report

China is rated Not Free in Freedom on the Net, Freedom House's comprehensive study of internet freedom around the globe. 

China Special Reports

A newspaper consumer reads a copy of the Africa edition of Beijing’s state-run China Daily newspaper in front of a newsstand in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo Credit: TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images.

Beijing's Global Megaphone

The Expansion of Chinese Communist Party Media Influence since 2017

Chinese soldiers amass outside of Labrang Monastery in Gansu Province to prevent protests during Losar, the Tibetan lunar New Year festival, in February 2016 (Christophe Boisvieux/Getty Images)

The Battle for China's Spirit

Religious Revival, Repression, and Resistance under Xi Jinping

Protesters calling for press freedom outside the offices of the Southern Weekly newspaper in Guangdong Province. January 2013 (Photo by Jonah M. Kessel)

The Politburo's Predicament

Confronting the Limitations of Chinese Communist Party Repression

 

demonstrators hold desktop monitors with protest images

Policy Recommendations: China's Global Media Influence

The Chinese Communist Party has expanded its efforts to shape news content around the world through promoting its own propaganda,, suppressing critical viewpoints, and obtaining control over key content-delivery systems. The following policy recommendations could help counter the negative impact of Beijing’s foreign media influence campaigns. 

protester holds sign that says freedom is a right not a privilege hong kong china

Explore the China Media Bulletin

The monthly China Media Bulletin provides unique insight on censorship, media freedom, and internet freedom issues related to the People's Republic of China, drawing on both English and Chinese-language sources.