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ChinaFile

@chinafile.bsky.social

4.5K followers 868 following 186 posts

Online magazine from Asia Society Reporting, Analysis, Photography, Video and Conversation on China

Posts Replies Media

ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

In her new graphic memoir 'Names and Faces,' comic artist Leise Hook illustrates a story of identity, exploring “the in-betweenness of being mixed-race.” Author Q&A: www.chinafile.com/re... Read an excerpt: www.chinafile.com/li...

Excerpted from Names and Faces by Leise Hook. Published by Holt. Copyright © 2026 by Leise Hook. All rights reserved.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

BONUS: For people who want to understand how Beijing accomplishes all of this at a technical level, we've included detailed—and delightfully illustrated!—explainers. Start here for a primer on how the internet works: shorturl.at/L3sBR

A cartoon graphic showing how information moves up and down the network stack.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

How does this happen? Well, sometimes it's just a simple mistake. The devices China uses to block domestic users' access to certain websites can also accidentally block foreign users' access—even if those users aren't in China. 15/21

A cartoon graphic showing how China's DNS blocking system disrupts internet traffic.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Altogether, this system resembles not so much a "Great Firewall" as a massive water management system: a series of canals and locks that regulate how much flows, through which particular channels, and at what times—what we call "the Locknet." 11/21

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Beijing builds censorship into every physical and digital component of the country's internet, throughout what computer scientists call "the stack." It hijacks normal internet functions and uses them to stop certain content from reaching its citizens. 8/21

A cartoon graphic showing various middleboxes that inspect internet traffic flowing across China's national borders.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

A wall simply prevents some information from crossing the border. But this system represents a much more dynamic and multifaceted operation—and one far more fitting for the Party's sweeping censorship ambitions. 7/21

A cartoon graphic showing some of the Locknet's components.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

NEW: A ChinaFile investigation into China's powerful, but leaky, internet censorship system at locknet.chinafile.com 1/21

A collage depicting blimps, planes, drones, and ships trawling the sea and sky for digital devices and information.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Showing the Dead a Good Time: A photo essay by Tomoko Kikuchi with an introductory essay by @iandenisjohnson.bsky.social in today's #FromtheChinaFiles: www.chinafile.com/reporting-op...

Dancers perform at a funeral in Wanzhou district of Chongqing municipality, July 23, 2014. Photo by Tomoko Kikuchi.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 17/06/2024

Authorities often use the term "mass prevention and control" (群防群治) to discuss this concept. As in, "the masses" work to prevent and control low-level crimes or other unwanted behavior. 4/10

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 01/11/2023

A huge thanks to our panelists and audience for a great event Monday night. Even with the heavy topic, we had a lot of fun.

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ChinaFile @chinafile.bsky.social · 05/10/2023

"Photographer Billy HC Kwok roams Hong Kong, acutely attuned to the quieter changes reshaping his city." www.chinafile.com/multimedia/p...

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