Hotznplotzn

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47179958

The Hong Kong authorities’ reaction to a deadly fire that raged through a high-rise apartment complex killing at least 159 people last month did not only include rescuing survivors and addressing the disaster but also a sweeping crackdown on those who dared to raise questions.

This chilling move is yet another sign of the increasing mainlandization of Hong Kong, where disasters, man-made and natural, are most often met with arbitrary detentions, censorship and harassment of anyone who strays from the Chinese Communist Party’s chosen narrative.

In the days after the tragedy, the Hong Kong authorities:

• kicked out volunteers who were distributing aid at the disaster site;
• arrested a 71-year-old man for posting a critical comment online;
• detained a student on "sedition" charges who had launched a petition callling for accountability; and,
• directly copying from China’s playbook, accused foreign anti-China forces of spreading rumours.

[...]

Questions that need answers

• Before the fire broke out on 26 November 2025 in Wong Fuk Court, some residents had opposed a planned renovation project over soaring repair costs and an opaque tendering system. Despite this, the renovation went ahead anyway in July 2024.

• For more than a year, residents warned the authorities that the netting and polystyrene materials used on building exteriors as part of the renovation work, were flammable. The government first said there were “no strict rules” on such materials, then later concluded the fire risk was “relatively low.”

• Labour and fire departments issued multiple notices demanding safety improvements but these warnings were not enforced.

• In the wake of the fire, investigators found that the netting failed fire-safety standards. To date, 13 people have been arrested on manslaughter charges in connection with the blaze— including contractors and a consultant.

[...]

The Hong Kong authorities’ reaction to a deadly fire that raged through a high-rise apartment complex killing at least 159 people last month did not only include rescuing survivors and addressing the disaster but also a sweeping crackdown on those who dared to raise questions.

This chilling move is yet another sign of the increasing mainlandization of Hong Kong, where disasters, man-made and natural, are most often met with arbitrary detentions, censorship and harassment of anyone who strays from the Chinese Communist Party’s chosen narrative.

In the days after the tragedy, the Hong Kong authorities:

• kicked out volunteers who were distributing aid at the disaster site;
• arrested a 71-year-old man for posting a critical comment online;
• detained a student on "sedition" charges who had launched a petition callling for accountability; and,
• directly copying from China’s playbook, accused foreign anti-China forces of spreading rumours.

[...]

Questions that need answers

• Before the fire broke out on 26 November 2025 in Wong Fuk Court, some residents had opposed a planned renovation project over soaring repair costs and an opaque tendering system. Despite this, the renovation went ahead anyway in July 2024.

• For more than a year, residents warned the authorities that the netting and polystyrene materials used on building exteriors as part of the renovation work, were flammable. The government first said there were “no strict rules” on such materials, then later concluded the fire risk was “relatively low.”

• Labour and fire departments issued multiple notices demanding safety improvements but these warnings were not enforced.

• In the wake of the fire, investigators found that the netting failed fire-safety standards. To date, 13 people have been arrested on manslaughter charges in connection with the blaze— including contractors and a consultant.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47178832

Archived

[...]

Bankers and fund managers are now rushing to weigh the damage of what could become one of the biggest corporate restructurings in China’s history, involving over $50 billion of outstanding debt — including more than $7 billion held by lenders and bond investors overseas. They warn that Vanke’s worsening problems will send ripples throughout China’s economy and its financial system, threatening losses for banks and ramping up pressure on the long-struggling property sector.

[...]

The chaos at Vanke has an unmistakable sense of deja vu for investors who endured around $130 billion of defaults over the past four years, as the property crunch toppled almost all of China’s once high-flying developers. But while giants like China Evergrande Group had binged on debt and spent wildly, Vanke was considered safer — and better connected. Some investors even considered it too big to fail.

[...]

The warning signs had been building for years. In late 2024, a mid-level executive at a Chinese regional bank started to worry about his firm’s exposure to Vanke.

He noticed a simple problem: The property company had an asset-liability ratio of around 70%, meaning it had $100 to cover every $70 of debt. But real estate prices had been falling for years, with a gauge of second-hand home prices in Shenzhen down more than a third from its peak. How could banks be sure that Vanke’s assets would continue to be worth enough to cover its debts?

The banker, suspecting Vanke’s debt would soon run into trouble, submitted a proposal to his bosses to reclassify the company’s loans as non-performing. His plan was rejected. His bosses pointed out that other big banks weren’t calling the loans non-performing, and so there was no need to go against the grain.

State banks are sometimes group-thinking animals, he said. There was a logic behind his managers’ reluctance to act. At the time, it still seemed likely that Shenzhen Metro — and perhaps even the Shenzhen government — would be there to help.

[...]

Vanke’s roughly $160 billion of assets and more than 125,000 employees gave it a huge importance to Shenzhen, a bustling trade hub. The city’s busy skyline is dotted with Vanke developments, including packed residential blocks, towering office buildings and high-end shopping malls. The Vanke Centre, its sprawling headquarters, flanks the city’s beach getaway of Dameisha.

[...]

Around 45% of Vanke’s roughly $50 billion debt load is unsecured, according to Barclays research based on data to the end of June, making it particularly vulnerable if the company is forced to restructure. Some of Vanke’s loans are protected by a so-called letter of comfort — a vague attempt at reassurance that has questionable legal value.

[...]

The yearslong crisis is also fueling a rising sense of anxiety among Chinese officials, who are considering measures to turn around the property market including mortgage subsidies and tax rebates. On Thursday, policymakers said they would encourage more purchases of unsold homes.

Officials recently ordered two private data agencies to freeze the publication of home sales data. Shanghai authorities have censored posts that express a pessimistic outlook about the real estate sector. There is also a growing self-censorship: At a credit ratings conference in early December, speakers didn’t refer to Vanke by name — referring only to a debt extension by “a major developer.”

“The core issue with the property market is the glut of housing inventory and the severely dented confidence of homebuyers,” said Kelvin Lam, senior China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “But the ongoing debt problems aren’t helping the situation, and suggest that the property sector is still very far away from being out of the woods.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47178832

Archived

[...]

Bankers and fund managers are now rushing to weigh the damage of what could become one of the biggest corporate restructurings in China’s history, involving over $50 billion of outstanding debt — including more than $7 billion held by lenders and bond investors overseas. They warn that Vanke’s worsening problems will send ripples throughout China’s economy and its financial system, threatening losses for banks and ramping up pressure on the long-struggling property sector.

[...]

The chaos at Vanke has an unmistakable sense of deja vu for investors who endured around $130 billion of defaults over the past four years, as the property crunch toppled almost all of China’s once high-flying developers. But while giants like China Evergrande Group had binged on debt and spent wildly, Vanke was considered safer — and better connected. Some investors even considered it too big to fail.

[...]

The warning signs had been building for years. In late 2024, a mid-level executive at a Chinese regional bank started to worry about his firm’s exposure to Vanke.

He noticed a simple problem: The property company had an asset-liability ratio of around 70%, meaning it had $100 to cover every $70 of debt. But real estate prices had been falling for years, with a gauge of second-hand home prices in Shenzhen down more than a third from its peak. How could banks be sure that Vanke’s assets would continue to be worth enough to cover its debts?

The banker, suspecting Vanke’s debt would soon run into trouble, submitted a proposal to his bosses to reclassify the company’s loans as non-performing. His plan was rejected. His bosses pointed out that other big banks weren’t calling the loans non-performing, and so there was no need to go against the grain.

State banks are sometimes group-thinking animals, he said. There was a logic behind his managers’ reluctance to act. At the time, it still seemed likely that Shenzhen Metro — and perhaps even the Shenzhen government — would be there to help.

[...]

Vanke’s roughly $160 billion of assets and more than 125,000 employees gave it a huge importance to Shenzhen, a bustling trade hub. The city’s busy skyline is dotted with Vanke developments, including packed residential blocks, towering office buildings and high-end shopping malls. The Vanke Centre, its sprawling headquarters, flanks the city’s beach getaway of Dameisha.

[...]

Around 45% of Vanke’s roughly $50 billion debt load is unsecured, according to Barclays research based on data to the end of June, making it particularly vulnerable if the company is forced to restructure. Some of Vanke’s loans are protected by a so-called letter of comfort — a vague attempt at reassurance that has questionable legal value.

[...]

The yearslong crisis is also fueling a rising sense of anxiety among Chinese officials, who are considering measures to turn around the property market including mortgage subsidies and tax rebates. On Thursday, policymakers said they would encourage more purchases of unsold homes.

Officials recently ordered two private data agencies to freeze the publication of home sales data. Shanghai authorities have censored posts that express a pessimistic outlook about the real estate sector. There is also a growing self-censorship: At a credit ratings conference in early December, speakers didn’t refer to Vanke by name — referring only to a debt extension by “a major developer.”

“The core issue with the property market is the glut of housing inventory and the severely dented confidence of homebuyers,” said Kelvin Lam, senior China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “But the ongoing debt problems aren’t helping the situation, and suggest that the property sector is still very far away from being out of the woods.”

Archived

[...]

Bankers and fund managers are now rushing to weigh the damage of what could become one of the biggest corporate restructurings in China’s history, involving over $50 billion of outstanding debt — including more than $7 billion held by lenders and bond investors overseas. They warn that Vanke’s worsening problems will send ripples throughout China’s economy and its financial system, threatening losses for banks and ramping up pressure on the long-struggling property sector.

[...]

The chaos at Vanke has an unmistakable sense of deja vu for investors who endured around $130 billion of defaults over the past four years, as the property crunch toppled almost all of China’s once high-flying developers. But while giants like China Evergrande Group had binged on debt and spent wildly, Vanke was considered safer — and better connected. Some investors even considered it too big to fail.

[...]

The warning signs had been building for years. In late 2024, a mid-level executive at a Chinese regional bank started to worry about his firm’s exposure to Vanke.

He noticed a simple problem: The property company had an asset-liability ratio of around 70%, meaning it had $100 to cover every $70 of debt. But real estate prices had been falling for years, with a gauge of second-hand home prices in Shenzhen down more than a third from its peak. How could banks be sure that Vanke’s assets would continue to be worth enough to cover its debts?

The banker, suspecting Vanke’s debt would soon run into trouble, submitted a proposal to his bosses to reclassify the company’s loans as non-performing. His plan was rejected. His bosses pointed out that other big banks weren’t calling the loans non-performing, and so there was no need to go against the grain.

State banks are sometimes group-thinking animals, he said. There was a logic behind his managers’ reluctance to act. At the time, it still seemed likely that Shenzhen Metro — and perhaps even the Shenzhen government — would be there to help.

[...]

Vanke’s roughly $160 billion of assets and more than 125,000 employees gave it a huge importance to Shenzhen, a bustling trade hub. The city’s busy skyline is dotted with Vanke developments, including packed residential blocks, towering office buildings and high-end shopping malls. The Vanke Centre, its sprawling headquarters, flanks the city’s beach getaway of Dameisha.

[...]

Around 45% of Vanke’s roughly $50 billion debt load is unsecured, according to Barclays research based on data to the end of June, making it particularly vulnerable if the company is forced to restructure. Some of Vanke’s loans are protected by a so-called letter of comfort — a vague attempt at reassurance that has questionable legal value.

[...]

The yearslong crisis is also fueling a rising sense of anxiety among Chinese officials, who are considering measures to turn around the property market including mortgage subsidies and tax rebates. On Thursday, policymakers said they would encourage more purchases of unsold homes.

Officials recently ordered two private data agencies to freeze the publication of home sales data. Shanghai authorities have censored posts that express a pessimistic outlook about the real estate sector. There is also a growing self-censorship: At a credit ratings conference in early December, speakers didn’t refer to Vanke by name — referring only to a debt extension by “a major developer.”

“The core issue with the property market is the glut of housing inventory and the severely dented confidence of homebuyers,” said Kelvin Lam, senior China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “But the ongoing debt problems aren’t helping the situation, and suggest that the property sector is still very far away from being out of the woods.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47167958

Archived

At least two fistfights broke out last week between [Temu parent company] PDD Holdings Inc. employees and Chinese regulators who were performing checks at the e-commerce company’s Shanghai premises, according to people familiar with the matter.

The altercations involved PDD staff and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. The SAMR [stands for State Administration for Market Regulation in China] officials were investigating reports of fraudulent deliveries on PDD’s platform, the people said, adding that police made several arrests in the aftermath.

While details of how the fights began weren’t immediately clear, the episode may trigger investor concern about increased regulatory scrutiny of PDD. It’s unheard of for interactions between large Chinese companies and regulators to descend into physical confrontations, even as tensions often run high between the two sides.

The SAMR, an agency with sweeping powers to investigate industries from technology to energy, led a high-profile antitrust probe against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2020 that culminated in a sector-wide clampdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has since made a concerted push to show its support for the private sector, including in a meeting between Xi and entrepreneurs such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma in February.

...

PDD, better-known as the creator of Temu and the Pinduoduo Chinese e-commerce platform, competes directly with Alibaba and JD.com domestically. Abroad, it’s known as an aggressive online retailer that, along with Shein, has ambitions to become a major player in the US and Europe.

PDD’s rapid growth has drawn regulatory attention not just at home.

Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin were raided by European Union competition watchdogs, amid suspicions the Chinese e-commerce giant may have received unfair subsidies from Beijing. Those unannounced inspections took place last week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke under condition of anonymity.

PDD just last month warned of a slowdown in an intensively competitive Chinese consumption environment, reflecting an escalating battle in online commerce.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47167958

Archived

At least two fistfights broke out last week between [Temu parent company] PDD Holdings Inc. employees and Chinese regulators who were performing checks at the e-commerce company’s Shanghai premises, according to people familiar with the matter.

The altercations involved PDD staff and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. The SAMR [stands for State Administration for Market Regulation in China] officials were investigating reports of fraudulent deliveries on PDD’s platform, the people said, adding that police made several arrests in the aftermath.

While details of how the fights began weren’t immediately clear, the episode may trigger investor concern about increased regulatory scrutiny of PDD. It’s unheard of for interactions between large Chinese companies and regulators to descend into physical confrontations, even as tensions often run high between the two sides.

The SAMR, an agency with sweeping powers to investigate industries from technology to energy, led a high-profile antitrust probe against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2020 that culminated in a sector-wide clampdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has since made a concerted push to show its support for the private sector, including in a meeting between Xi and entrepreneurs such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma in February.

...

PDD, better-known as the creator of Temu and the Pinduoduo Chinese e-commerce platform, competes directly with Alibaba and JD.com domestically. Abroad, it’s known as an aggressive online retailer that, along with Shein, has ambitions to become a major player in the US and Europe.

PDD’s rapid growth has drawn regulatory attention not just at home.

Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin were raided by European Union competition watchdogs, amid suspicions the Chinese e-commerce giant may have received unfair subsidies from Beijing. Those unannounced inspections took place last week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke under condition of anonymity.

PDD just last month warned of a slowdown in an intensively competitive Chinese consumption environment, reflecting an escalating battle in online commerce.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47167958

Archived

At least two fistfights broke out last week between [Temu parent company] PDD Holdings Inc. employees and Chinese regulators who were performing checks at the e-commerce company’s Shanghai premises, according to people familiar with the matter.

The altercations involved PDD staff and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. The SAMR [stands for State Administration for Market Regulation in China] officials were investigating reports of fraudulent deliveries on PDD’s platform, the people said, adding that police made several arrests in the aftermath.

While details of how the fights began weren’t immediately clear, the episode may trigger investor concern about increased regulatory scrutiny of PDD. It’s unheard of for interactions between large Chinese companies and regulators to descend into physical confrontations, even as tensions often run high between the two sides.

The SAMR, an agency with sweeping powers to investigate industries from technology to energy, led a high-profile antitrust probe against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2020 that culminated in a sector-wide clampdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has since made a concerted push to show its support for the private sector, including in a meeting between Xi and entrepreneurs such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma in February.

...

PDD, better-known as the creator of Temu and the Pinduoduo Chinese e-commerce platform, competes directly with Alibaba and JD.com domestically. Abroad, it’s known as an aggressive online retailer that, along with Shein, has ambitions to become a major player in the US and Europe.

PDD’s rapid growth has drawn regulatory attention not just at home.

Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin were raided by European Union competition watchdogs, amid suspicions the Chinese e-commerce giant may have received unfair subsidies from Beijing. Those unannounced inspections took place last week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke under condition of anonymity.

PDD just last month warned of a slowdown in an intensively competitive Chinese consumption environment, reflecting an escalating battle in online commerce.

Archived

At least two fistfights broke out last week between [Temu parent company] PDD Holdings Inc. employees and Chinese regulators who were performing checks at the e-commerce company’s Shanghai premises, according to people familiar with the matter.

The altercations involved PDD staff and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. The SAMR [stands for State Administration for Market Regulation in China] officials were investigating reports of fraudulent deliveries on PDD’s platform, the people said, adding that police made several arrests in the aftermath.

While details of how the fights began weren’t immediately clear, the episode may trigger investor concern about increased regulatory scrutiny of PDD. It’s unheard of for interactions between large Chinese companies and regulators to descend into physical confrontations, even as tensions often run high between the two sides.

The SAMR, an agency with sweeping powers to investigate industries from technology to energy, led a high-profile antitrust probe against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2020 that culminated in a sector-wide clampdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has since made a concerted push to show its support for the private sector, including in a meeting between Xi and entrepreneurs such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma in February.

...

PDD, better-known as the creator of Temu and the Pinduoduo Chinese e-commerce platform, competes directly with Alibaba and JD.com domestically. Abroad, it’s known as an aggressive online retailer that, along with Shein, has ambitions to become a major player in the US and Europe.

PDD’s rapid growth has drawn regulatory attention not just at home.

Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin were raided by European Union competition watchdogs, amid suspicions the Chinese e-commerce giant may have received unfair subsidies from Beijing. Those unannounced inspections took place last week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke under condition of anonymity.

PDD just last month warned of a slowdown in an intensively competitive Chinese consumption environment, reflecting an escalating battle in online commerce.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47160442

Archived

• China's ties with Japan have spiraled over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks, but President Xi Jinping is taking a more measured approach.
• Despite the dispute, Japanese brands such as Uniqlo, Muji, and Sushiro are still popular in China, with some even seeing an increase in business.
• Chinese authorities have avoided stoking public anger, with officials discouraging travel to Japan and limiting seafood imports, but not inciting widespread boycotts of Japanese products.

[...]

Asia’s top economies might be at loggerheads on the world stage, but for China’s 1.4 billion shoppers it’s largely business as normal. That’s because while Communist Party officials have discouraged travel to Japan, limited seafood imports and canceled some Japanese concerts and films, authorities have avoided stoking public anger to a level beyond their control.

It marks an evolution in China’s economic coercion playbook as leaders calibrate their retaliation to avoid denting already weak consumer spending at home or stirring up hard-to-contain social unrest.

[...]

“Inciting public anger could lead to unpredictable outcomes that would potentially be difficult for the government to manage,” said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group and a former US diplomat in China and Japan. “Japanese foods and products remain immensely popular in China,” he added, calling the dispute over Takaichi’s comments “abstract” to the general public.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47161025

Archived

[...]

Within China, this technology helped identify and punish almost 900,000 officials last year alone, nearly five times more than in 2012, according to state numbers. Beijing says it is cracking down on corruption, but critics charge that such technology is used in China and elsewhere to stifle dissent and exact retribution on perceived enemies.

Outside China, the same technology is being used to threaten wayward officials, along with dissidents and alleged criminals, under what authorities call Operations “Fox Hunt” and “Sky Net.” The U.S. has criticized these overseas operations as a “threat” and an “affront to national sovereignty.” More than 14,000 people, including some 3,000 officials, have been brought back to China from more than 120 countries through coercion, arrests and pressure on relatives, according to state information.

“They’re actively pursuing those people who fled China. … as a way to demonstrate power, to show there’s no way you can escape,” said Yaqiu Wang, a fellow at the University of Chicago. “The chilling effect is enormously effective.”

[...]

Li [the Chinese dissident now living in the U.S.] drew ire because as a former official, he knew well and exposed the inner workings of local politics, including naming names. While in the U.S., he also started what he called the Chinese Tyrannical Officials Whistleblower Center.

“China places enormous emphasis on the political discipline of even former officials and (Communist) Party members,” said Jeremy Daum, Senior Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. “So when one becomes a vocal critic of the country’s leadership, it doesn’t go over well.”

At a pro-democracy gathering in California in 2020, Li said, he was tailed and questioned by a stranger who knew his identity. That November, an activist secretly working for Beijing asked Li to a meeting and added him to a dissident group chat monitored by China’s police, a 2025 FBI indictment later revealed. In June, an FBI letter identified Li as the possible victim of a crime involving an unregistered Chinese agent.

[...]

Li’s future in the U.S. is unclear. The Trump administration has paused all asylum applications. If he doesn’t return, he could face trial in absentia; if convicted and deported, he could face life in prison.

“Electronic surveillance is the arteries for China to project power into the world ... each step that every one of your relatives takes is being monitored and analyzed with big data,” Li said. “It’s absolutely terrifying.”

[...]

Beijing tapped phones, seized assets and installed cameras outside the homes of friends and family. Some detained were denied surgery or other medical care, even those recovering from heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. Li’s aunt was released from a hospital in a vegetative state with bruises on her head and all over her body. Even the Li family grave was dug up.

[...]

Li’s friend, Kong, was sentenced to over a decade in prison for allegedly taking bribes. The party claimed he had watched porn and ignored his work, which they blamed for the spread of COVID in his district. Furious, Li kept speaking out.

[...]

In February 2021, Li learned the Chinese government had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice declaring to police worldwide that Li was a wanted man. Interpol retracted the Red Notice after Li filed a complaint.

Li began donning masks and hats in public and carrying multiple phones, wary of surveillance. He floated from safe house to safe house with Christians across the United States.

[...]

Li is now cut off from friends and family, denied legal assistance and clueless even to the details of the charges against him. So he is once again resorting to speaking out — this time on YouTube.

Li acknowledges the situation seems hopeless. But he’s pressing on.

“Why am I speaking up?” he said. “Today, it’s me. Tomorrow, it might be you.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47161025

Archived

[...]

Within China, this technology helped identify and punish almost 900,000 officials last year alone, nearly five times more than in 2012, according to state numbers. Beijing says it is cracking down on corruption, but critics charge that such technology is used in China and elsewhere to stifle dissent and exact retribution on perceived enemies.

Outside China, the same technology is being used to threaten wayward officials, along with dissidents and alleged criminals, under what authorities call Operations “Fox Hunt” and “Sky Net.” The U.S. has criticized these overseas operations as a “threat” and an “affront to national sovereignty.” More than 14,000 people, including some 3,000 officials, have been brought back to China from more than 120 countries through coercion, arrests and pressure on relatives, according to state information.

“They’re actively pursuing those people who fled China. … as a way to demonstrate power, to show there’s no way you can escape,” said Yaqiu Wang, a fellow at the University of Chicago. “The chilling effect is enormously effective.”

[...]

Li [the Chinese dissident now living in the U.S.] drew ire because as a former official, he knew well and exposed the inner workings of local politics, including naming names. While in the U.S., he also started what he called the Chinese Tyrannical Officials Whistleblower Center.

“China places enormous emphasis on the political discipline of even former officials and (Communist) Party members,” said Jeremy Daum, Senior Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. “So when one becomes a vocal critic of the country’s leadership, it doesn’t go over well.”

At a pro-democracy gathering in California in 2020, Li said, he was tailed and questioned by a stranger who knew his identity. That November, an activist secretly working for Beijing asked Li to a meeting and added him to a dissident group chat monitored by China’s police, a 2025 FBI indictment later revealed. In June, an FBI letter identified Li as the possible victim of a crime involving an unregistered Chinese agent.

[...]

Li’s future in the U.S. is unclear. The Trump administration has paused all asylum applications. If he doesn’t return, he could face trial in absentia; if convicted and deported, he could face life in prison.

“Electronic surveillance is the arteries for China to project power into the world ... each step that every one of your relatives takes is being monitored and analyzed with big data,” Li said. “It’s absolutely terrifying.”

[...]

Beijing tapped phones, seized assets and installed cameras outside the homes of friends and family. Some detained were denied surgery or other medical care, even those recovering from heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. Li’s aunt was released from a hospital in a vegetative state with bruises on her head and all over her body. Even the Li family grave was dug up.

[...]

Li’s friend, Kong, was sentenced to over a decade in prison for allegedly taking bribes. The party claimed he had watched porn and ignored his work, which they blamed for the spread of COVID in his district. Furious, Li kept speaking out.

[...]

In February 2021, Li learned the Chinese government had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice declaring to police worldwide that Li was a wanted man. Interpol retracted the Red Notice after Li filed a complaint.

Li began donning masks and hats in public and carrying multiple phones, wary of surveillance. He floated from safe house to safe house with Christians across the United States.

[...]

Li is now cut off from friends and family, denied legal assistance and clueless even to the details of the charges against him. So he is once again resorting to speaking out — this time on YouTube.

Li acknowledges the situation seems hopeless. But he’s pressing on.

“Why am I speaking up?” he said. “Today, it’s me. Tomorrow, it might be you.”