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China Digital Times

@chinadigitaltimes.net
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chinadigitaltimes.net – a Berkeley-based nonprofit publishing news and translations focused on human rights and freedom of expression in China

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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 02/10/2026
Photo: Small shops, by Francisco Anzola chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/10/phot...
In the Shangcheng district of Hangzhou, two charming small shops selling various items such as snacks, tea, and souvenirs sit side by side. The shop at left has a pleasing outdoor display of handicrafts and souvenir-type items underneath a thatched, umbrella-shaped canopy. The shops occupy the ground floor of the same building; the rooms on the second floor appear to be apartments. Laundry hanging on a line is visible through one of the upstairs windows.
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 02/10/2026
CDT Quote of the Week: chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/10/cdts...
"Long after the Gang of Four was toppled and the Cultural Revolution was recast as an historical setback, concepts like 'better to have socialist weeds than capitalist seedlings' remain stubbornly persistent in many realms of social governance." - From a deleted essay by Xiang Dongliang about the surprise summer box-office success of subpar animated film "Niu Lai" in a Chinese film ecosystem where political censorship remains paramount
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 02/10/2026
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for August 2026 Topics: Comedian Guo Degang, sexual assault at banquets, Huawei vs. the "bamboo cicada", security checks around Tiananmen, box-office surprise "Niu Lai", Gyirong flooding, more.
chinadigitaltimes.net
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for August 2026
CDT presents a monthly series of censored content that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content Archive.” Each month, we publish a summary of content
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 30/09/2026
HRIC – HRIC Digital Rights Report - August 2026 news.hrichina.org/p/hric-digit...
news.hrichina.org
HRIC Digital Rights Report - August 2026
Devastating flash floods along the Nepal–Tibet border in late August exposed the human cost of China’s information controls. While more than 1,000 people were confirmed dead and thousands remained mis...
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 30/09/2026
Safeguard Defenders – CGTN: See the Difference. China's Party-State Media in Focus safeguarddefenders.com/en/publicati...
safeguarddefenders.com
CGTN: See the Difference. China's Party-State Media in Focus
CGTN: See the Difference.
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 28/09/2026
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."
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: Censored Commentary on Beijing’s Drone Storage Ban
The post below, from WeChat account 白桦视界 Báihuà Shìjiè, or “White Birch Vision,” is a censored response to new restrictions on drone ownership and storage
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 28/09/2026
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."
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: Censored Commentary on Beijing’s Drone Storage Ban
The post below, from WeChat account 白桦视界 Báihuà Shìjiè, or “White Birch Vision,” is a censored response to new restrictions on drone ownership and storage
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 23/09/2026
Translation: “Eventually, We All Learned to Keep Quiet” "When someone is unhappy with something they think is unreasonable or unfair, they ought to be allowed to ask, 'Why?' What’s scary is if society reaches the point where no one dares to ask why."
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: “Eventually, We All Learned to Keep Quiet”
In mid-September, a man was arrested for stabbing and wounding an unknown number of women outside a hotpot restaurant in the GOGO Xintiandi shopping plaza in
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 23/09/2026
Translation: “Eventually, We All Learned to Keep Quiet” "When someone is unhappy with something they think is unreasonable or unfair, they ought to be allowed to ask, 'Why?' What’s scary is if society reaches the point where no one dares to ask why."
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: “Eventually, We All Learned to Keep Quiet”
In mid-September, a man was arrested for stabbing and wounding an unknown number of women outside a hotpot restaurant in the GOGO Xintiandi shopping plaza in
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 21/09/2026
Journalist and #MeToo Activist Sophia Huang Xueqin Released From Prison After Five Years
chinadigitaltimes.net
Journalist and #MeToo Activist Sophia Huang Xueqin Released From Prison After Five Years
Sophia Huang Xueqin, a journalist whose reporting on human rights and sexual abuse helped to galvanize China’s #MeToo movement, was scheduled to be released
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/04/neti...
chinadigitaltimes.net
Netizen Voices on MSS Claim That Foreign Forces Are Funding Chinese Slackers: “If Everyone Slacked Off, Who’d Be Left To Exploit?”
In an article published to its official WeChat account on Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) accused unnamed “foreign organizations” of
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
"A popular vlogger sarcastically complained that he wanted to 'report' foreign forces for failing to pay him despite his tireless efforts to lie flat. These responses have all since been censored."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
"The official media attributing the trend of lying flat to foreign interference was promptly pilloried by Chinese netizens who filled online comment sections with criticism and satire."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
Freedom House – The CCP is Trying—and Failing—to Extinguish Defiance among Chinese Citizens freedomhouse.org/article/ccp-...
freedomhouse.org
The CCP is Trying—and Failing—to Extinguish Defiance among Chinese Citizens
People across China persistently express discontent through “lying flat” and public protest.
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 21/09/2026
Journalist and #MeToo Activist Sophia Huang Xueqin Released From Prison After Five Years
chinadigitaltimes.net
Journalist and #MeToo Activist Sophia Huang Xueqin Released From Prison After Five Years
Sophia Huang Xueqin, a journalist whose reporting on human rights and sexual abuse helped to galvanize China’s #MeToo movement, was scheduled to be released
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
"This leaked trove reveals ByteDance's internal content-review mechanisms as they stood around 2020: regulatory requirements from higher-level authorities [serve as] the basis for a detailed lexicon of sensitive terms, an 'operating manual' used on a daily basis by frontline content moderators."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
MiniTrue: ByteDance Censors’ List of 5,241 Sensitive Terms Includes references to political figures and their family members, historical and political events, guns and other banned weapons, scandals and controversies, and more.
chinadigitaltimes.net
MiniTrue: ByteDance Censors’ List of 5,241 Sensitive Terms
The following is an introduction to and contextualization of some of the specific entries and broader categories included in CDT’s archived “ByteDance Lexicon
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 19/09/2026
Translation: Euphemism and Censorship Surround Guangxi Flooding, Dam Breach News chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/07/tran...
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: Euphemism and Censorship Surround Guangxi Flooding, Dam Breach News
Back-to-back typhoons have brought torrential rain, flooding, and other extreme weather events to parts of southern and central China, and prompted mass
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 19/09/2026
"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."
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 19/09/2026
The Irrawaddy – Guangxi’s Deadly Floods and China’s Propaganda Crisis www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/gues...
irrawaddy.com
Guest Column | Guangxi’s Deadly Floods and China’s Propaganda Crisis
The Chinese regime’s assiduous information management efforts are making natural disasters worse, says Chandu Doddi.
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 18/09/2026
CDT Quote of the Week: chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/tran...
"The media certainly need funding, technology, and talent, but they also need room to speak. If the media have no room to raise issues, then traffic-boosting trickery will only help it blow its fluff over greater distances." - Blogger "Fellini," discussing an unusually frank (and quickly deleted) article from Zhejiang's provincial propaganda department, which acknowledged the many competing mandates threatening the survival of Chinese media media outlets
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 18/09/2026
Translation: Article on Media’s Survival Fails to Survive "The media certainly need funding, technology, and talent, but they also need room to speak."
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: Article on Media's Survival Fails to Survive
Like their counterparts elsewhere, Chinese news media face mounting challenges such as commercial headwinds and pressure to adapt to new technologies like
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 18/09/2026
Photo: Mini fire station, by QuantFoto chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/phot...
Two red fire vehicles and several motorcycles (or scooters) are parked next to a white wall topped with traditional Chinese tiles. At left is what appears to be a small, red, electric patrol vehicle of some sort. In the middle are three motorcycles or scooters, with their front ends facing away from the wall. At right, is a small red fire truck with a cylindrical metal device mounted on the rear (likely a fog/mist cannon used for dust-suppression). The Chinese characters on the vehicles suggests that they are used in or around the Xixi Wetlands, near Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
MiniTrue: ByteDance Censors’ List of 5,241 Sensitive Terms Includes references to political figures and their family members, historical and political events, guns and other banned weapons, scandals and controversies, and more.
chinadigitaltimes.net
MiniTrue: ByteDance Censors’ List of 5,241 Sensitive Terms
The following is an introduction to and contextualization of some of the specific entries and broader categories included in CDT’s archived “ByteDance Lexicon
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 20/09/2026
Freedom House – The CCP is Trying—and Failing—to Extinguish Defiance among Chinese Citizens freedomhouse.org/article/ccp-...
freedomhouse.org
The CCP is Trying—and Failing—to Extinguish Defiance among Chinese Citizens
People across China persistently express discontent through “lying flat” and public protest.
123
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 19/09/2026
The Irrawaddy – Guangxi’s Deadly Floods and China’s Propaganda Crisis www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/gues...
irrawaddy.com
Guest Column | Guangxi’s Deadly Floods and China’s Propaganda Crisis
The Chinese regime’s assiduous information management efforts are making natural disasters worse, says Chandu Doddi.
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 18/09/2026
CDT Quote of the Week: chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/tran...
"The media certainly need funding, technology, and talent, but they also need room to speak. If the media have no room to raise issues, then traffic-boosting trickery will only help it blow its fluff over greater distances." - Blogger "Fellini," discussing an unusually frank (and quickly deleted) article from Zhejiang's provincial propaganda department, which acknowledged the many competing mandates threatening the survival of Chinese media media outlets
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 18/09/2026
Photo: Mini fire station, by QuantFoto chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/phot...
Two red fire vehicles and several motorcycles (or scooters) are parked next to a white wall topped with traditional Chinese tiles. At left is what appears to be a small, red, electric patrol vehicle of some sort. In the middle are three motorcycles or scooters, with their front ends facing away from the wall. At right, is a small red fire truck with a cylindrical metal device mounted on the rear (likely a fog/mist cannon used for dust-suppression). The Chinese characters on the vehicles suggests that they are used in or around the Xixi Wetlands, near Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 18/09/2026
Translation: Article on Media’s Survival Fails to Survive "The media certainly need funding, technology, and talent, but they also need room to speak."
chinadigitaltimes.net
Translation: Article on Media's Survival Fails to Survive
Like their counterparts elsewhere, Chinese news media face mounting challenges such as commercial headwinds and pressure to adapt to new technologies like
044
Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 14/09/2026
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for July 2026
chinadigitaltimes.net
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for July 2026
CDT presents a monthly series of censored content that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content Archive.” Each month, we publish a summary of content
003
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 14/09/2026
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for July 2026
chinadigitaltimes.net
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for July 2026
CDT presents a monthly series of censored content that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content Archive.” Each month, we publish a summary of content
003
Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 10/09/2026
Wuhan Authorities Punish Theatre and Event Organizers After Comedian Guo Degang Riffs on “Red Tune” Without Prior Approval "Whether Guo Degang can still take the stage and perform crosstalk or Peking Opera remains unanswered. Not providing an answer is itself an answer."
chinadigitaltimes.net
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 11/09/2026
CDT Quote of the Week: chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/gyir...
"If you guess [the death toll] right, it’s 'leaking state secrets.' If you guess wrong, it’s 'spreading rumors.' Either way, you’re screwed." - An online comment in response to the news that Chinese cyberspace authorities punished 10 people for "spreading rumors" about the death toll and scale of flooding along the China-Nepal border
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 11/09/2026
CDT Quote of the Week: chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/gyir...
"If you guess [the death toll] right, it’s 'leaking state secrets.' If you guess wrong, it’s 'spreading rumors.' Either way, you’re screwed." - An online comment in response to the news that Chinese cyberspace authorities punished 10 people for "spreading rumors" about the death toll and scale of flooding along the China-Nepal border
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 10/09/2026
China’s Online Environment Gets Colder and Darker "Prolonged economic distress is making it harder for the party to maintain its preferred account of how the country is doing." chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/chin...
chinadigitaltimes.net
China's Online Environment Gets Colder and Darker
At The New York Times, Li Yuan writes that Beijing's efforts to cultivate an air of uniform "positive energy" online have been looking increasingly
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 10/09/2026
Wuhan Authorities Punish Theatre and Event Organizers After Comedian Guo Degang Riffs on “Red Tune” Without Prior Approval "Whether Guo Degang can still take the stage and perform crosstalk or Peking Opera remains unanswered. Not providing an answer is itself an answer."
chinadigitaltimes.net
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
"'History won't remember its view count, but this was the first time someone connected domestic labour grievances directly to foreign law ​enforcement mechanisms,' he said."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
"[CDT founder and editor-in-chief Xiao Qiang] said the topic's emergence in spite of that shows many Chinese people do not view exporters' interests as synonymous with national interest."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
Reuters – Some Chinese workers see an ally in Brussels as EU trade tensions mount www.reuters.com/world/china/...
reuters.com
Some Chinese workers see an ally in Brussels as EU trade tensions mount
The European Union is finding support on an opponent's turf ahead ​of trade talks with Beijing, as Chinese workers vent on social media about excessive overtime that critics say gives exporters an unf...
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 10/09/2026
China’s Online Environment Gets Colder and Darker "Prolonged economic distress is making it harder for the party to maintain its preferred account of how the country is doing." chinadigitaltimes.net/2026/09/chin...
chinadigitaltimes.net
China's Online Environment Gets Colder and Darker
At The New York Times, Li Yuan writes that Beijing's efforts to cultivate an air of uniform "positive energy" online have been looking increasingly
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
"[AI] has given censors great power to survey the digital landscape [...] and to speedily delete undesirable content. The party used to be a big step behind China’s once-rumbustious online chats; now it undoubtedly has the upper hand, says Xiao Qiang of China Digital Times."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
The Economist – Speech in China is in the deep freeze www.economist.com/china/2026/0...
economist.com
Speech in China is in the deep freeze
A natural disaster and a comedy mishap testify to the party’s power
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
The Economist – Speech in China is in the deep freeze www.economist.com/china/2026/0...
economist.com
Speech in China is in the deep freeze
A natural disaster and a comedy mishap testify to the party’s power
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 09/09/2026
Reuters – Some Chinese workers see an ally in Brussels as EU trade tensions mount www.reuters.com/world/china/...
reuters.com
Some Chinese workers see an ally in Brussels as EU trade tensions mount
The European Union is finding support on an opponent's turf ahead ​of trade talks with Beijing, as Chinese workers vent on social media about excessive overtime that critics say gives exporters an unf...
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 07/09/2026
Netizen Voices, on Gyirong Floods: “Controlling Speech is One Area Where 'China Speed' is Actually Real.”
chinadigitaltimes.net
Netizen Voices, on Gyirong Floods: “Controlling Speech is One Area Where 'China Speed' is Actually Real.”
Chinese cyberspace authorities announced that ten people from Tibet and several other provinces have been hit with unspecified administrative punishments
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 04/09/2026
"Digital analysts note that this censorship highlights a significant upgrade in China's internet policing tools. Instead of merely filtering text-based keywords, platforms now rely heavily on video fingerprinting, image hashing and machine-learning models to recognize specific visual scenes."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 04/09/2026
"According to China Digital Times (CDT), an independent watchdog that tracks Chinese internet censorship, the video of the collapsing border gate was systematically blocked from being shared on WeChat, even in private messages."
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 04/09/2026
DW – How China buried Tibet flood images after Nepal disaster www.dw.com/en/how-china...
dw.com
How China buried Tibet flood images after Nepal disaster
In Tibet, a digital crackdown followed the deadly flood that has devastated communities along the China-Nepal border. Censors erased viral footage while Chinese state media flooded platforms with offi...
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China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 07/09/2026
Netizen Voices, on Gyirong Floods: “Controlling Speech is One Area Where 'China Speed' is Actually Real.”
chinadigitaltimes.net
Netizen Voices, on Gyirong Floods: “Controlling Speech is One Area Where 'China Speed' is Actually Real.”
Chinese cyberspace authorities announced that ten people from Tibet and several other provinces have been hit with unspecified administrative punishments
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Reposted by China Digital Times
China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · 04/09/2026
“'With this one, even if the Chinese side has information control, on the Nepal side there is a lot of information coming out,' said [CDT's] Xiao Qiang. 'It makes the Chinese government feel that controlling information around this event is harder.'"
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