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Graphic of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China’s tech weapons roll in to quell demonstrations, identify protesters

Free speech

The latest demonstrations across China ended when the central government unleashed a digital arsenal that was less deadly than the tanks used to quell the 1989 protests, but just as effective. China managed to use the internet to defuse national outrage over President Xi Jinping’s strict COVID-19 policies without firing a single shot.

Delegates applaud as Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China's ruling Communist Party held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. 

China’s small business owners hope for a new normal ‘after the Party Congress’

COVID-19
This Underwood typewriter features Yiddish letters of the aleph-beys, on display at the Museum of the City of New York.

A Yiddish revival is underway at this prestigious Chinese university

Language
Mini EV cars seen in Zhumadian, China.

Electric vehicles are gaining popularity across China as govt creates incentives

Science & Technology
Soccer may be China’s national sport, but enthusiasm for frisbee — a quintessential American sport — is soaring in China.

The rise of Ultimate Frisbee as a team sport in China

Sports
Chinese policemen patrol the bund area in Shanghai, June 1, 2022.

Massive data breach in China raises questions around govt’s responsibility in securing data, expert says

Hacking

Zeyi Yang, a China reporter with MIT Technology Review, looked at some of the data and spoke from New York with The World’s host Marco Werman about the situation.

A collage of video screenshots that feature Africans exploited for profit in a growing trend known as "blessings videos."

A new documentary uncovers the story behind China’s racist ‘blessings video’ trend

Arts, Culture & Media

These trendy videos often feature African children who are prompted to parrot Chinese greetings and to act in inappropriate ways — for entertainment.

An image from the video game Genshin Impact

Chinese Genshin Impact is one of the most-profitable video games on Earth. It balances mass appeal with Beijing’s blessing.

Arts, Culture & Media

Genshin Impact’s unexpected global success highlights a precarious balance: How Beijing goes about nurturing Big Tech while holding true to Chinese Communist Party ideology.

Hu Xin and He Yan Xin as seen in the film "Hidden Letters"

These women are trying to preserve an ancient Chinese language invented as a secret code

Language

Hundreds of years ago, women in China weren’t allowed an education and spent their days locked in rooms, embroidering and making crafts. They came up with a new language that men couldn’t understand — Nüshu — and wrote it onto handmade fans to communicate with each other. A filmmaker is now trying to raise awareness to preserve it before it is lost.

Residents in a sealed-off Shanghai neighborhood receive bulk-ordered food supplies under the monitoring of health workers in hazmat suits

This Shanghai writer and translator shares his experience of the city’s 2-month lockdown

COVID-19

As Shanghai begins to ease its two-month COVID-19 lockdown, writer and translator Xing Zhao says that the psychological impacts on residents are likely to linger for much longer.