China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is banning Douban from app stores, though its website is still online and existing users can still access the app. This is Douban’s second punishment in 10 days.
China is the “world’s worst jailer of journalists,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said in its annual survey. Reporters Without Borders estimated that 127 journalists are currently detained in China, including Hong Kong, which has seen its press freedoms rapidly deteriorate under the National Security Law.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has become the first global sporting organization to say ‘no’ to the Chinese government, suspending all matches in the country and calling for champion Peng Shuai’s freedom and for her #MeToo allegations to be investigated.
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai accused former vice premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her into a sexual relationship, sending censors into overdrive. Feminist activist Lü Pin told The China Project that "while it's too soon to tell the long-term impact of her story, it has already generated lots of conversations among people and made them think."
Yahoo has ended its 22-year presence in the Chinese market, a largely symbolic move after many of the internet company’s services had already stopped operating in China years ago.
After NBA player Enes Kanter posted a “Free Tibet” message to social media, his team, the Boston Celtics, was removed from online streaming in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissed his activism as “clout-chasing.”
LinkedIn, which since 2014 has represented the largest social media portal through Beijing’s Great Firewall, has decided to close down its localized China version. Increased censorship pressure, compliance costs for new laws, local competition, and bad PR outside of China may have all contributed to the move.
China’s war on “effeminate” men continues as another gender bending influencer is removed from Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
Ultraman is a Japanese cartoon character who has captivated Chinese children since the 1980s. Now he has been purged from the Chinese internet after a government report called him “violent and criminal.”