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 blocked or deleted (often yielding the message “404: content not found”) from Chinese platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, Douyin (TikTok’s counterpart in the Chinese market), Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Bilibili, Zhihu, Douban, and others. Although this content archived by CDT Chinese editors represents only a small fraction of the online content that disappears each day from the Chinese internet, it provides valuable insight into which topics are considered “sensitive” over time by the Party-state, cyberspace authorities, and platform censors. Our fully searchable Chinese-language “404 Deleted Content Archive,” currently contains 2,397 deleted articles, essays, and other pieces of content. The entry for each deleted item includes the author/social media account name, the original publishing platform, the subject matter, the date of deletion, and more information.
Below is Part Three of CDT’s summary of deleted content from January 2026. (Part One included 21 deleted articles; Part Two, 19 articles; and Part Three, 15 articles.) Between January 1-31, CDT Chinese added 55 new articles, mostly from WeChat, to the archive. Topics targeted for deletion in January included:
• Maduro and Venezuela: Chinese reactions to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife by U.S. forces; Chinese and international media coverage of Venezuela; and what recent events may mean for Sino-Venezuelan relations.
• Hebei’s rural heating crisis: Many elderly and rural residents in Hebei, braving subzero temperatures, were unable afford to pay for heating this winter due to a combination of soaring energy prices, plummeting natural-gas subsidies, and strict bans on the burning of “loose coal” following that region’s “coal-to-gas” conversion that launched in 2017. (This was one of the most censored online topics in January: 16 of CDT’s 55 archived articles last month concerned Hebei’s energy woes.)
• Sharp birthrate decline: China’s annual birthrate fell below eight million in 2025, a record low, fueling online discussion about demographics, pro-natalist government policies, and the “period police.”
• Jia Guolong and Luo Yonghao spat: An acrimonious public dispute between influencer Luo Yonghao and Xibei restaurant chain founder Jia Guolong culminated in both of their Weibo accounts being suspended.
• Gender double standards and misogyny: There were several posts on sexism and double standards in society, and public outcry over a controversial decision not to prosecute a rape case in Heshun county, Shanxi province, because the man involved was “motivated by the desire to start a family” with a mentally ill woman.
• Online influencer “Lao A”: After rising to fame for coining the phrase “kill line” to describe poverty and homelessness in the U.S., Lao A continued to generate controversy over his misogynistic statements about Chinese women who live or study abroad.
• Complaints about naked art: Reports of complaints about a nude statue of Yang Guifei emerging from her bath resulted in a flood of memes and outrageous fashion suggestions about how to clothe her nudity.
• The future of Iran: A blogger pondered the possibility of regime change in Iran as diplomatic pressure mounts.
• Generational differences: An article asked which generation had it worse—the “Post-80s,” “Post-90s,” or “Post-00s”?
(Note that the dates in the summary below refer to when an article was published on the CDT website, not when it was deleted from Chinese social-media platforms.)
41. “What Was 2025 Like for Workers Enduring Extreme Weather Conditions?” WeChat account Foodthink
January 20
This piece, republished by a WeChat blog focused on sustainable food and agriculture, reproduces chapter 13 (“The Climate Crisis and Industrial Safety Accidents: The Cost of Inequality”) of "A Review of Labor Rights Incidents in 2025," a year-end report compiled by a volunteer group of labor-rights activists. It makes a compelling case that the burdens of climate change fall disproportionately on outdoor and gig workers such as delivery riders, sanitation workers, and security guards, who lack adequate workplace and labor protections. The authors of the piece reveal systemic failures that culminated in deaths and injuries such as the July heatstroke deaths of a delivery rider in Xinyang, Henan; a landscaping worker in Shenyang, Liaoning; a dormitory supervisor at Qingdao University; and a security guard in Xi’an. The report also mentions the case of a man who became an online hero (but was chided by railway authorities) after smashing the window of a stalled, sweltering train to save fellow passengers from heatstroke. Lastly, the piece discusses efforts by labor-rights activists to improve enforcement of existing law-labor protections, raise worker awareness of their rights, and protect workers during extreme weather conditions.
42. “Why Did Zhai Zhenwu’s Prediction That ‘Introducing a Two-Child Policy Will Lead to a Baby Boom of 49.95 Million Births in One Year’ Fail to Materialize?” by Su Ze 2024, WeChat account Su Ze’s Notes on Literature and History
January 20
This article from humanities blogger Su Ze revisits demographer and China Population Association president Zhai Zhenwu’s spectacularly inaccurate 2014 prediction that relaxing the one-child policy would lead to a massive baby boom, which Zhai estimated would peak at nearly 50 million births per year. (Demographic data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics in January revealed that in 2025, China’s population fell for a fourth consecutive year, and the annual birthrate plummeted to below eight million, roughly the same level as in 1738, when China’s population was only about 150 million.) In examining why Zhai’s prediction failed to materialize, Su Ze enumerates the many faults of Zhai’s analysis: relying on outdated or flawed survey material; failing to take into account external factors such as the high cost of living and the expense of raising and educating children; and wildly overestimating the effectiveness of government policy in shaping reproductive decisions.
43. “‘Let’s Change the Subject, Shall We?’ Is Destroying Domestic AI,” by Hereditary Researcher, WeChat account 小干体 (Xiǎo gān tǐ, “Junior Bureaucratese”)
January 20
This article, from a former investigative journalist who now specializes in writing family memoirs, argues that DeepSeek and other Chinese LLMs have been stunted by politically-driven censorship that now peppers even slightly sensitive conversations with the annoying suggestion, “Let’s change the subject, shall we?" The author traces DeepSeek’s rapid rise and fall: after making global headlines in January 2025 and briefly rattling Nvidia’s stock valuation, DeepSeek’s user base plummeted as its increasing evasiveness on contested topics led many users to dismiss it as useless. The author likens these restrictions on domestic AI to China’s heavily censored media landscape, and argues that both are doomed by the same imposed inability to discuss hot-button social issues or engage honestly with reality. In a humorous conclusion, the author describes asking Douyin’s AI assistant Doubao about these issues: it eagerly critiqued DeepSeek’s censorship problem in detail, apparently without recognizing that it suffers from the same flaw.
44. “Deadbeat Local PSB Under Court Order to Restrict Spending Until Debt Is Paid” WeChat account New Yellow River
January 20
A long article about a legal dispute between a private technology company (Tianjin Tiandi Weiye Technologies) and Tianjin’s Binhai New Area Public Security Bureau (PSB) about non-payment for two government procurement projects that the tech company furnished to the local PSB: a video surveillance system and a traffic-camera maintenance project. Although a court in Tianjin has ruled in Tiandi Weiye’s favor and ordered the local PSB to restrict spending until the debt is paid, the company is still awaiting payment. (Tianjin Tiandi Weiye Technologies was placed on an export control “blacklist” by the U.S. Commerce Department in December 2022 for its role in facilitating the repression and surveillance of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.)
45. “Viral Appeal from Lanxi County, Heilongjiang Province, Asks Public to ‘Voluntarily’ Donate a Day’s Wages to Needy Government Employees,” by Li Yuchen, WeChat account Li Yuchen
January 22
Alleged screenshots of a government charity-federation drive in the county of Lanxi, Heilongjiang province, calling on citizens to "voluntarily donate" a day’s wages to help struggling government workers attracted widespread mockery and criticism online. Blogger Li Yuchen is critical of the high-pressure nature of the appeal, as well as the distribution scheme, in which supposedly “needy” government employees with job security, social insurance, and housing stipends would receive 2,000 yuan each, while truly impoverished rural and urban residents would receive only 1,000 yuan each. Li describes this as “draining the lifeblood of the poor to transfuse the rich.” Li concludes by reminding readers that the viral document has not been confirmed to be authentic, but if it isn’t, it would be wise for Lanxi county authorities to issue a denial quickly, before it does lasting damage to the local government and the charity federation’s credibility.
46. “Shanxi Heshun County Procuratorate: Rape with the Intent of Forming a Family Is Not a Crime,” by Li Yuchen, WeChat account Li Yuchen
January 25
One of four deleted pieces on this topic archived by CDT in January, this article excoriates prosecutors in Heshun county, Shanxi province, who declined to pursue rape charges against a man surnamed Zhang who “took in” Bu Xiaohua, a young woman suffering from schizophrenia, lived with her in a remote mountain village for over a decade, and fathered her children, at least one of whom was reportedly sold for adoption. Despite the fact that under Chinese law, Ms. Bu’s mental illness precludes her from being able to consent to sexual relations on the grounds that she “lacks a capacity for sexual self-defense,” prosecutors pointed to Mr. Zhang’s “intent to form a family” with Ms. Bu as proof that his actions did not constitute rape. This news sparked massive public outrage in China, with many legal experts and anti-trafficking activists weighing in on the dangerous implications of the prosecutors’ inaction in an era of increasingly intrusive pro-natalist policies and propaganda. The topic has also been the target of online censorship: a Weibo hashtag about Ms. Bu was censored after being viewed more than 160 million times. (Ms. Bu, who holds a master’s degree in engineering and was considered missing for 13 years by her family, has since been reunited with her brother and sister-in-law and is reportedly receiving medical and psychological treatment. Prosecutors in Heshun, after declining to prosecute Zhang, charged two other village men with raping Ms. Bu while Zhang was either drunk or absent.)
Li Yuchen’s lengthy article describes Ms. Bu’s harrowing ordeal, criticizes the various individuals who were complicit in mistreating and exploiting her, and tears apart the misleading and euphemistic language used by prosecutors to justify their decision not to prosecute Zhang: “involved in a stable cohabitation," "with the intent to form a family,” “caused negligible harm," and “fundamental difference from rape.” Li concludes by sounding the alarm about what this case portends:
If today, they decline to prosecute rape when it is committed “with the intent to form a family,” what crimes will they decide to let slide tomorrow under other auspices?
When the rule of the law can be arbitrarily expanded or contracted, when the line between guilt and innocence can be blurred by a few choice euphemisms, none of us can truly feel safe.
When illiterates espouse atavistic views dismissing women’s autonomy, we can call it ignorance, but when those same views are written in black and white on an official judicial document, we must call it what it is: the death of the rule of law. [Chinese]
47. “The Cost of ‘Fundamental Difference’: How the Heshun Case Undermines the Legal Definition of Rape,” by Yan Senlin, WeChat account 吾我五木 (Wú wǒ wǔ mù)
January 25
This article includes a widely cited legal commentary on the Heshun case by attorney Yan Senlin, who submitted requests for information disclosure on the case. Yan briefly recounts the background of the case, reviews relevant sections of the Chinese criminal code, analyzes the legal reasoning behind the decision by Heshun prosecutors not to charge defendant Zhang with rape, and discusses the implications of that decision and what sort of precedent it will set. A piece by SCMP’s Meredith Chen cites Yan’s commentary on the case:
The rationale sent a troubling signal as it effectively “redrew the boundary of what constitutes rape”, said Yan Senlin, a Chengdu-based lawyer.
“Protection under criminal law for women with mental disabilities is quietly shifting away from whether they have the capacity to give sexual consent towards whether they were ‘well treated’ or placed within a family relationship,” Yan said in an article posted on social media last month. The post was later taken down.
In practice, this created a legal loophole that endangered women with mental disabilities, a group already extremely vulnerable, Yan said, adding that once such an interpretation became entrenched, “the potential systemic risks and long-term consequences are difficult to overstate”. [Source]
48. “Why Did Harvard’s Jin Keyu Choose to Be With an Indebted Businessman With Nine Children?” WeChat account IrisInTheSky
January 26
This gossipy article discusses a viral scandal surrounding Jin Keyu, the Harvard-educated economist and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology professor of finance. It centers on her romantic relationship with Yu Haijun, a Zhejiang auto-industry tycoon described as a rough-edged entrepreneur who reportedly has nine children across multiple relationships. The article also mentions Yu’s financial woes, which include the bankruptcy of his company and court-ordered limits on his spending. The piece also mentions former Harvard president Lawrence Summers, who reportedly emailed Jeffrey Epstein around 2018 asking for advice on how to pursue Jin, but there is no evidence that Jin reciprocated in any way. The author suggests that the smart and accomplished Jin deserves a more worthy romantic partner, but also acknowledges that Jin’s private life should not be used to dismiss her genuine academic and professional achievements.
49. “The Infantilization of Political Life,” by 宪举同学 (Xiànjǔ tóngxué, “Constitutionalist classmate”), WeChat account 黔有虎 (Qián yǒu hǔ, “Guizhou has tigers”)
January 27
The author of this piece argues that Chinese political life is becoming increasingly "infantilized," as illustrated by recent videos of young local People’s Congress delegates giving obsequious interviews in an exaggerated, sing-song cadence reminiscent of elementary school student-council members. The author compares this to "neoteny," or the preservation of juvenile characteristics in certain animals. Much as adult cats retain the kittenhood habit of meowing to extract favor from their humans, the author writes, so have these delegates internalized the lesson that childlike deference and flattery is the path to reward and protection within the political system. The piece concludes sardonically with the word “meow.”
50. “In Suihua City, Heilongjiang, 2,000 Yuan Relief for Needy Government Employees, But Only 1,000 Yuan for the Suffering Masses,” by Li Yuchen, WeChat account Li Yuchen
January 27
Blogger Li Yuchen writes about receiving a barrage of telephone calls from unfamiliar numbers in the city of Suihua in Heilongjiang province after publishing a post (see article #45) criticizing a charity appeal there to assist “needy” government employees. Undeterred by these intimidating calls, Li digs further into the past activities of a government-affiliated charitable foundation in Suihua, and discovers that while related documents from 2023-2026 had been posted online, they began quickly disappearing. Li, of course, includes extensive screenshots of the documents for the benefit of readers. Noting the extortionate tone of the charity appeal, and the fact that it clearly benefits government employees over impoverished citizens, he concludes: “This isn’t charity; it’s thuggery.”
51. “The Case of the Female Master’s Degree-Holder in Shanxi Reveals a Society That Makes Me Want to Vomit,” Tang Yishui, WeChat account Tang Yishui
January 27
This article highlights the glaring contradiction of Heshun county prosecutors’ decision to charge two village men for raping Ms. Bu—prosecutors cited Bu’s diagnosis of schizophrenia and “lack of capacity for sexual self-defense”—while declining to charge Zhang, the man with whom she lived and who fathered her children, due to their long cohabitation. The author argues that this outcome makes no legal sense, for it essentially rewards long-term perpetrators who seek to legitimize their crimes with the passage of time and excuses such as “wanting to start a family” or “offering shelter” to a woman. The piece condemns not only overt violence but also societal complicity and the glib institutional indifference that rationalizes any number of crimes against women and children. (The article specifically mentions the way the court referred to the sale of one of Ms. Bu’s children for 40,000 yuan as an "informal adoption due to poverty.") “While we’ve been having online arguments about whether feminism has ‘gone too far’ in recent years,” writes the author, “in the real world, an entire village has been condoning and tacitly colluding in what is essentially trafficking, molestation, and rape.”
52. “Which Generation Has It Worst: The Post-80s, Post-90s, or Post-00s?” by 捉刀漫谈max (Zhuōdāo màntán max, “Ghostwriter ramblings max”), WeChat account 捉刀时间max (Zhuōdāo shíjiān max, “Ghostwriting time max”)
January 28
This article compares the fates of three Chinese generations and argues that each has suffered in distinct ways as China’s era of fast-paced economic growth draws to an end. Those born in the 80s caught the tail end of the economic boom and benefitted from globalization and rising property values, but they are now burdened by heavy mortgages, aging parents, and collapsing middle-class aspirations. Those born in the 90s entered an already saturated job market and had to contend with cut-throat competition, unstable employment, consumer debt, and fewer opportunities for upward mobility. Lastly, the generation born after the year 2000 face low economic growth, a stagnant job market, and entrenched class stratification, depriving them of either a sense of purpose or material wealth. The author concludes that the real intergenerational “winners” are the entrenched elite who managed to extract value from each wave of young people in turn.
An illustration depicting the doors open to the post-80s, post-90s, and post-00 generations, respectively. (source: WeChat account 捉刀时间max)
53. “They Put the Screws on Li Ka-shing, but Lost the Ports Anyway …” by Hereditary Researcher, WeChat account 家传老干体 (Jiāchuán lǎogāntǐ, "Hereditary Bureaucratese")
January 30
This article discusses the collapse of Hong Kong billionaire property magnate Li Ka-shing‘s deal to sell two Panama Canal ports, operated by a subsidiary of Li’s conglomerate C.K. Hutchison Holdings, after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled the operating contracts unconstitutional on January 29. The author argues that Chinese state media’s long-running and bellicose campaign to block the sale and paint Li as unpatriotic backfired spectacularly. In the end, it may have prompted the U.S. to pressure Panama to revoke the contracts, rather than allow a Chinese state-owned enterprise like COSCO to take them over. The author humorously suggests that Li may have actually benefited from the outcome, since the unilateral contract cancellation entitles him to compensation and relieves him of a geopolitically toxic asset he wanted to offload anyway. The piece closes by praising Li’s legendary pragmatism and foresight. (Follow-up news: In late February, Hong Kong lodged a formal complaint with Panama after the Panamanian government took control of the two ports. A few days later, Panamanian authorities raided the office of the C.K. Hutchison subsidiary that had operated the two ports.)
54. “Lao A’s Schizophrenic Misogyny: Chinese Male Exchange Students Dating Foreign Women Bring ‘Glory’ to Our Country, but Chinese Female International Students Dating Foreign Men Are ‘Traitorous and Promiscuous,’” by Wang Wu, WeChat account Postmodern Philosophy
January 31
Philosophy blogger Wang Wu discusses the "schizophrenic misogyny” of online influencer Lao A, who rose to fame for coining the phrase “kill line” to describe poverty and homelessness in the U.S. (while ignoring suffering closer to home). Lao A continues to stir up controversy with virulent double standards hailing Chinese male students who sleep with foreign women as national heroes, while lobbing sexist insults at Chinese female students who date foreign men. The author mocks Lao A’s bizarre ideology as "seminal capitalism" and “ejaculatory chauvinism,” and notes that Lao A seems to view women’s bodies as territorial resources in a zero-sum geopolitical contest, rather than recognizing women as autonomous human beings with their own desires and agency. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, the author dissects Lao A’s obsession with "conquering" foreign women and posits that his true fixation is not on women at all, but on a symbolic battle with foreign men. The piece concludes that this ideology is manufacturing a whole cohort of hypernationalist incels, and that nationalist discourse is devolving into a miasma of cuckolding anxiety and reproductive fantasy.
55. “The Grim Reality Behind Decision Not to Pursue Rape Charges in Case of the Trafficked Master’s Degree Holder,” by Mei Xue, WeChat account Aquarius Era
January 31
This investigative report from freelance journalism collective Aquarius Era gives even more detail about Bu Xiaohua’s life, the abuse and trafficking she endured, the likely crimes against her and her children that remain unprosecuted, and about the likelihood of many similar cases nationwide. The article quotes lawyer Yan Senlin describing the legal decision in Bu’s case as emblematic of a wider systemic failure in which the state relies on private individuals to care for those with mental disabilities, effectively outsourcing welfare responsibilities while ignoring the systematic abuse that inevitably follows. The investigation revealed that local authorities, including police and poverty alleviation officials, were aware of Bu’s presence and condition for years, yet they facilitated her local household registration instead of organizing her rescue. The author argues that the Chinese legal system suffers from a dangerous paternalism, where "kind-hearted adoption" narratives are frequently used to mask human trafficking and sexual exploitation. By failing to implement mandatory reporting systems or protect and provide services for women with mental illness or developmental disabilities, the justice system treats them as disposable. Ultimately, the piece calls for urgent systemic reform, asserting that these women’s fundamental human rights must not be sacrificed to maintain local "social stability" or traditional patriarchal structures.