China Digital Times

From their website:

China Digital Times (CDT) is an independent, bilingual media organization that brings uncensored news and online voices from China to the world.

We achieve this through:

  • Filtering and aggregating news from English-language media and placing it in a broader social and political context;
  • Amplifying the voices of Chinese citizens through translation;
  • Revealing the hidden mechanisms of state censorship by collecting and translating filtered keywords, propaganda directives, and official rhetoric;
  • Interpreting the resistance discourse of Chinese netizens by introducing and translating the codes, metaphors, and satire created in response to breaking news and censored topics.

CDT English was launched in 2003 as a blog to track the development of the Internet in China and quickly grew into a more comprehensive news portal. In 2010, we launched CDT Chinese to aggregate content that has been censored or blocked in Chinese cyberspace. We select the most valuable and relevant material from CDT Chinese to translate for our English readers. CDT is based in Berkeley, CA, but our team contributes to the site from across the globe.

At any time, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. We also encourage you to join the discussions on our various social media sites.

To increase connectivity to our readers in China, we have also set up a mirror site for English and Chinese.

Last Updated: July 7, 2016

Drawing the News: Wo Shi Chali (Je Suis Charlie)

Anne Henochowicz
China Digital Times
Chinese cartoonists and netizens have responded quickly to the slaying of cartoonists and editors at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo yesterday. Masked gunmen entered the offices of the journal and fired automatic weapons at staff in an...

Thousands of Local Internet Propaganda Emails Leaked

Anne Henochowicz
China Digital Times
The archive includes correspondence, photos, directories of “Internet commentators” (网评员), summaries of commentary work, and records of the online activities of specific individuals, among other documents. Over 2,700 emails are included in the...

Zhou Xiaoping, Director of History

Josh Rudolph
China Digital Times
Since nationalistic blogger Zhou Xiaoping’s “positive energy” won accolades from Xi Jinping at the Beijing Forum on Literature in Art last week, he has been the subject of much netizen scrutiny, and some have taken him to task for his blatant...

Chinese Social Media Shrinks by 7% During Internet Crackdown

China Digital Times
According to China Internet Network Information Center, the number of Chinese Internet users logging on to social media websites declined by 7.4% percent in the first half of 2014 amid a year of slow Internet usage growth.

25 Years Ago: Zhao Ziyang Appears to Win Backing

China Digital Times
To commemorate the student movement, CDT is posting a series of original news articles from 1989, beginning with the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15 and continuing through the tumultuous spring.

After Winding Odyssey, Tibetan Texts Find Home

Sophie Beach
China Digital Times
An American scholar of Tibet has collected thousands of Tibetan language books and donated them to Chengdu’s Southwest University for Nationalities.

New Regulations for Online Video Sharing

Anne Henochowicz
China Digital Times
China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television issued a notice including rules such as real name registration for all users uploading to video sharing sites. 

Chinese Netizens Give Max Baucus a Chinese Name

Little Bluegill
China Digital Times
The new U.S. Ambassador to China, Max Baucus, asked for suggestions for his Chinese name. Everyone unanimously replied, “Meikesi? Baokesi.” [“He hasn’t died of coughing? It’s guaranteed he’ll die of coughing.”]

Activists Challenge Beijing by Going to Dinner

China Digital Times
On the last weekend of every month, government critics gather for unassuming meals in as many as 20 cities across the country to discuss issues from failures in the legal system to unequal access to education. 

Minitrue: Chen Yongzhou Admits Accepting Bribes

Anne Henochowicz
China Digital Times
Directive from the Ministry of Truth to media: “New Express reporter Chen Yongzhou accepted bribes to publish a number of inaccurate reports. The media must use the full text of Xinhua News Agency wire copy regarding this incident, no...

China’s Press Corps Ordered to Study Marxism

Josh Rudolph
China Digital Times
The nation’s 307,000 reporters, producers and editors will soon have to sit through at least two days of Marxism classes, the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department has announced along with the press association...

Police Break Up Beijing Independent Film Festival

Natalie Ornell
China Digital Times
Directors, jury and invited guests who had come from as far as Sweden were told the 10th Beijing Independent Film Festival were threatened with power cuts and the arrest of Wang Hongwei if they persisted in holding the festival. 

GAPPRFT Portfolio Published

Sophie Beach
China Digital Times
As part of a government restructuring program initiated at the National People's Congress in March, the General Administration of Press and Publications was merged with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Filmmaker Du Bin Released on Bail

Sophie Beach
China Digital Times
Fimmaker, photographer and author Du Bin has been released after five weeks in detention in Beijing. On May 31, Du disappeared from his apartment in Beijing and was held by the police. Du was released on...

Unrest In Xinjiang Incites Military Crackdown

Natalie Ornell
China Digital Times
State-run media reported that more than 100 people riding motorcycles, some wielding knives, attacked a police station in remote Hotan on Friday. It follows Wednesday’s clashes elsewhere in Xinjiang which killed 35. At a meeting...