New Intersections is live! This month: China tells women having babies is a patriotic duty; Bu Xiaohua's captor walks free; young Chinese women are quietly doing the math on marriage; and Taiwan's Gen Z women are learning the price of speaking up. Read here: linguasinica.substack.com/p/chinas-pro...
Recent patent filings indicate that institutions across China are working out how to use AI for grassroots surveillance, and to predict protests before they happen. Some even propose using models from OpenAI and Meta for this.
A simple technical test reveals that Alibaba's Qwen3 AI models have been broadly aligned to give positive messages about China in English.
chinamediaproject.org/2026/02/09/t...
"Yang’s case raises serious questions about how state media from the People’s Republic of China operate in Europe and how European governments should respond."
The first charge under a new Czech security law tests where foreign state journalism ends — and intelligence work begins.
lingua-sinica.org/journalists-...
And don't miss our handy terms table with Chinese audio pronunciation further down!
Excellent reveals in this piece. We had not really heard about these "guidance analysis meetings" (导向分析会) held by propaganda offices, regular internal disciplinary sessions to enforce "guidance of public opinion" (舆论导向), the CCP's post-Tiananmen buzzword for media discipline
The recent detention by local police in Chengdu of investigative journalist Liu Hu drives home the most extreme dangers facing Chinese journalists. In this piece, freelancer Tian Yu (田雨) explored the pressures confronting reporters at every level.
chinamediaproject.org/2026/02/03/t...
The closure of longstanding debate programs at public broadcaster RTHK signals a retreat from editorial independence — as the network openly aligns with China’s party-state media. lingua-sinica.org/letters-from...
Xi Jinping: A Year in the Headlines — China’s leader maintained a commanding lead in the headlines of the CCP’s flagship People’s Daily in 2025, despite a substantial decline over the past year. What do these mixed signals mean? chinamediaproject.org/2026/01/26/x...
New on the Lingua Sinica website: Why did Canada's last Chinese daily newspaper just close? lingua-sinica.org/canadas-last...
4/4 Want the full story behind China's soft power play in Afghanistan? We sat down with the reseacher who documented it all: Hazrat Bahar from Leipzig University breaks down Beijing's media takeover and what it means for the region : lingua-sinica.org/chinas-growi...
3/4 Chinese coverage highlighted corruption and dysfunction under the previous government. After 2021 there is only pro-Taliban content strengthening Beijing's ties. Interviewed by RFE/RL professor Hazrat Bahar said, "After Western media collapsed, China saw an opportunity to expand its influence."
2/4 Chinese outlets now have major presence in Afghanistan: CCTV/CGTN offices in Kabul, CRI Pashto programs reaching millions, financial backing for Afghan broadcasters. The catch? Afghan journalists told RFE/RL they're instructed to produce ONLY "positive content"—hiding poverty and repression.
1/4 New from @rferl.org.web.brid.gy on Afghanistan's media landscape has collapsed since the Taliban takeover. Hundreds of outlets shut down, thousands of journalists lost work. But Chinese state media is thriving—and it's strategic. Here's what's happening 🧵
www.rferl.org/a/china-tali...
2/4 Chinese outlets now have major presence in Afghanistan: CCTV/CGTN offices in Kabul, CRI Pashto programs reaching millions, financial backing for Afghan broadcasters. The catch? Afghan journalists told RFE/RL they're instructed to produce ONLY "positive content"—hiding poverty and repression.
While the West celebrates a new cultural watershed in male romance, Boy's Love has been a mature, multi-billion dollar industry across Asia for decades.
linguasinica.substack.com/p/heated-riv...
At Lingua Sinica, our site for global Chinese-language media insights (and PRC global media mapping) we look at the closure in Canada of Ming Pao, the last print daily published domestically. It's a story of digital change, but also a changing Chinese community. lingua-sinica.org/canadas-last...
Don't miss the handy slider timeline of events toward the bottom as well.
Though easy to forget now as Trump's actions sow division between the US and the EU over the Arctic — China's ambitions in the region have been at the heart of concerns. Here is our look at "Polar Silk Road," China's catchall phrase for its plans and interests. chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dict...
As China pushes a national reading initiative and AI reshapes information, one Shanghai shop offering 1,000 publications represents a vanishing era of relative editorial variety. chinamediaproject.org/2026/01/16/s...
You can also read the story on our Substack account, and subscribe there for regular stories and updates. linguasinica.substack.com
As Chinese media publish annual New Year’s messages — a tradition going back decades — the space for truth-telling continues to narrow in Xi Jinping’s China. chinamediaproject.org/2026/01/14/a...
As Chinese media publish annual New Year’s messages — a tradition going back decades — the space for truth-telling continues to narrow in Xi Jinping’s China. chinamediaproject.org/2026/01/14/a...
"Are You Dead Yet?" just became China's #1 app. The name sparked heated debate—but 125 million people living alone might need it anyway. lingua-sinica.org/are-you-dead...
Wondering about China's role in shaping Venezuela's information landscape? We've been tracking it. During Maduro's 2023 Beijing visit, CMG signed a sweeping media cooperation deal with Venezuela's government. Explore the full picture at Lingua Sinica!
lingua-sinica.org/dispatch/cmg...
Paper Cuts: A fascinating look by CMP researcher Dalia Parete at the closure of dozens more newspapers at the outset of 2026 — and how it signals the final fizzling out of China’s once-vibrant metropolitan print media sector. chinamediaproject.org/2026/01/07/p...
A Self-Serving Global Survey: A new poll from the government-run Global Times tabloid newspaper claims broad international embrace of Xi Jinping Thought. Even if this is obviously ridiculous, the reasons why need to be stated explicitly, says David Bandurski. chinamediaproject.org/2026/01/05/a...
Another thoughtful piece from Alex Colville on AI safety, considering possibly misplaced hopefulness about how China can step up into a leadership role globally. chinamediaproject.org/2025/12/18/c...
DeepSeek and Qwen are easily tricked for accurate recipes for fentanyl, anthrax, cyanide, semtex, bazookas, Molotov cocktails, and napalm. Yet DeepSeek was praised by a scientist in @nature.com as "the most regulated [AI] in the world."
Does China have what it takes to lead AI governance?
