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

China Media Bulletin Resources

News and analysis of censorship, surveillance, social media restrictions, media freedom, and propaganda in China and Hong Kong.

Resource Overview: 

  • Resources for accessing uncensored information, protecting user privacy
  • Take action to help journalists and free expression activists
  • Recommendations for policymakers, media, donors, and others
  • More Freedom House analysis on China 

     

Resources for accessing uncensored information, protecting user privacy

China's system of information control is one of the most sophisticated and restrictive in the world, and the limited space for freedom of expression has been reduced even further in recent years. Moreover, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda and censorship efforts are increasingly reaching beyond China’s borders. As a result, news and information on issues of vital importance to both Chinese citizens and the wider world have been suppressed.

To combat these trends, various actors inside China—journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and religious believers—as well as foreign governments, civil society groups, media development organizations, and technologists have been implementing strategies to protect and expand freedom of expression and access to information.

Freedom House researchers have compiled the resources and recommendations below and on related pages for China Media Bulletin readers who wish to help counter repressive CCP information controls.

No censorship circumvention tool or digital security system is perfect. The following resources are for readers’ reference. Please be sure to research and choose tools carefully based on your needs, technological knowledge, and the threat level you face.

Resources for Journalists: 

  • Reporters Without Borders’ general Safety Guide for Journalists includes an informative chapter on digital security that describes precautions to take in China and some of the relevant tools that can be used, though the guide alone may not be sufficient given the tight information environment in China.
  • Committee to Protect Journalists: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is a New York–based nonprofit dedicated to defending media freedom and assisting journalists. Each year it publishes a list of jailed journalists around the world, including in China. 

Resources for Users

circumvention central logo great fire

Circumvention Central

This website is managed by the anticensorship group Greatfire.org and provides a list of both paid and free virtual private network (VPN) services and circumvention tools, and comparative data on their speed and stability. (The site is not accessible within the Great Firewall, so readers are advised to check and download any tools before traveling to China.)

security in a box digital security resources

Security in a Box

This comprehensive resource on digital security is produced by Front Line Defenders and the Tactical Technology Collective. Among the sections is one on anonymity and censorship circumvention, which includes an explanation of how proxies function and links to sample tools.

That one privacy site logo thumbnail screenshot cmb resource

That One Privacy Site

That One Privacy Site: Maintained by a privacy expert, the site offers detailed explanations on what to consider when choosing a VPN or circumvention tool as well as comparative charts for several tools, particularly paid services.

vpn cmb resource screenshot thumbnail

Awesome Anti-Censorship Page

Awesome Anti-Censorship Page via Github: The page, maintained on GitHub, lists a variety of anonymity and circumvention tools with brief descriptions and links for download. GitHub is accessible from within the Great Firewall, but some of the links on this page may not be.

comparitech logo cmb resources

Comparitech

Comparitech blog post: This article reviews five paid VPN tools that reportedly worked in China as of January 2018.

 FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB OF CHINA

Foreign Correspondents' Club of China

Resource For Journalists:The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China offers a number of resources for its members working in China (accessible only with a login), including a basic guide to cybersecurity and reporting in the country.

Take Action: Support journalists and free expression activists

China has one of the largest populations of prisoners of conscience in the world, including hundreds of documented cases of people jailed for working as journalists, peacefully expressing criticism of the government, or sharing censored information online and offline about corruption, police brutality, or religious persecution.

Many of these prisoners are the subject of international rescue campaigns. Such efforts have been proven time and again to reduce prisoners’ risk of torture and even secure their early release. The following information explains how readers can add their voice and support to the work different organizations are doing to help these courageous individuals.

Take Action: Share a Prisoner's Story

Freedom House’s China Media Bulletin has featured the following individuals who were sentenced to long prison terms in China for peacefully exercising their right to free expression. One simple way to help them is to raise awareness. You can start by sharing their story on social media.

Take Action: Share A Prisoner’s Story

Zhang Haitao prisoner of conscience china xinjiang

Zhang Haitao

Zhang Haitao of Xinjiang province was sentenced in January 2016 to 19 years in prison for posting comments critical of Chinese government policies to WeChat and Twitter and sharing information with overseas Chinese-language media. His wife and young son fled to the United States in late 2017.
 

Click to share their story to Twitter! 

CMb prisoners Yao Guofu and Liang Xin, Henan Province

Yao Guofu and Liang Xin

Yao Guofu and Liang Xin of Henan Province  were sentenced in December 2016 to four and a half years in prison for using a VPN to access blocked websites, download censored information, and produce and disseminate materials related to the Falun Gong spiritual group and the persecution its believers face. Their daughter, pictured here with her parents, resides in California and is herself a torture survivor.  

Click to share their story to Twitter! 

CMB prisoner of conscience Lu Yuyu, Yunnan Province

Lu Yuyu

Lu Yuyu of Yunnan province was sentenced in August 2017 to four years in prison after working with his girlfriend, Li Tingyu, to document, collate, and share reports of strikes and protests across China. Their work earned them the 2016 press freedom award for citizen journalism from Reporters Without Borders.

Click to share their story to Twitter! 

 

Take Action: Share A Prisoner’s Story

Atikem Rozi prisoner of conscience china xinjiang

Atikem Rozi

An ethnic Uighur, Atikem Rozi of Xinjiang province was one of seven students of Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti who were jailed after Tohti himself was sentenced to life imprisonment. She was sentenced in December 2014 for her social media posts, including expressions of admiration for Ilham Tohti and updates related to the disappearance into detention of her boyfriend, Mutellip Imin. The length of her sentence is believed to be between three and eight years.

Click to share their story to Twitter! 

prisoner of conscience china Lü Gengsong, Zhejiang Province

Lü Gengsong

Lü Gengsong was sentenced in June 2016 to 11 years in prison for 11 articles published on various overseas websites that were critical of the Chinese government, including analyses of the Bo Xilai scandal and critiques of the detention or sentencing of fellow activists and writers. He reportedly suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. His wife and daughter continue to advocate for his release.

Click to share their story to Twitter! 

Lee Ming-che, Taiwan prisoner of conscience cmb

Lee Ming-che

Lee Ming-che,Taiwanese citizen detained in China, was sentenced in November 2017 to five years in prison for discussing democracy and information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese and foreign social media platforms, speaking about Taiwan’s democratization, and trying to assist the families of Chinese political prisoners. Lee’s wife, Lee Chin-yu, remains in Taiwan and continues to advocate for her husband’s release.

Click to share their story to Twitter! 

Take Action: Write a Letter

You can also help the above prisoners by writing a letter to your parliamentary or government representative and asking that they raise the case with Chinese officials.

  • Amnesty International is best known for its global letter-writing campaigns on behalf of prisoners of conscience around the world. Chinese bloggers, lawyers, and free expression activists are regularly the focus of such campaigns. To view current campaigns on behalf of prisoners in China and add your voice with a letter to Chinese officials, see this page on Amnesty International’s website, or view the Take Action section at the end of the latest issue of the China Media Bulletin.
  • Front Line Defenders is an organization based in Ireland that campaigns on behalf of human rights defenders around the world, including via letters sent to Chinese government officials. To view current campaigns focused on rights defenders in China, sample text for a letter, and the addresses of relevant Chinese officials, see this page on the group’s website and click “Take Action” under the activist you would like to help.

Take Action: Help A Prisoner’s Family

Several organizations started by Chinese activists outside mainland China attempt to provide humanitarian assistance to prisoners and their families, including those jailed for exercising their right to free expression.

  • Shiyuan (10 dollars) Project
    This project was founded by Chinese civil rights activists in Canada. Participants can give a monthly donation of 10 dollars to help support prisoners of conscience and their families.
  • Humanitarian China
    Humanitarian China is a small organization founded by overseas Chinese in the United States. It provides relief for over 100 prisoners of conscience and their families each year.
  • Friends of Conscience
    This Hong Kong–based nonprofit collects information about prisoners of conscience in China, including internet and free expression advocates, and verifies their families’ contact information. Donors may choose a designated recipient and arrange a donation directly to that family, or make a general donation to the foundation.

Have Another Idea?

Email [email protected] for up-to-date information about advocacy efforts on behalf of the China Media Bulletin’s featured prisoners and others like them, and to discuss how you can be of assistance.

demonstrators hold desktop monitors with protest images

Recommendations for policymakers, media, donors, and others

China's complex media and information systems often suppress free expression but also provides opportunities for domestic and international actors to help protect and expand the basic rights of millions of people. Read our policy recommendations to learn more about what can be done to stem the tide of China's authoritarian reach. 

Learn More

More Analysis on China

BGMI cover cropped

Beijing's Global Media Influence Report

A newspaper consumer reads a copy of China's Africa edition of its daily newspaper infront of a news stand in the Kenyan capital on December 14, 2012. Photo credit:TONY KARUMBA/AFP via 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

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

The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship

How the Communist Party's Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets Around the World

demonstrators hold desktop monitors with protest images

Recommendations on China's Global Media Influence

The following recommendations for policymakers in democratic nations could help counter the negative impact of Beijing’s foreign media influence campaigns.

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