This month on Global Voices Newsroom
From stories of resistance in Afghanistan to cultural battles in Russia, and from farmers in Cameroon to activists in Vietnam, this month GV brought together voices navigating crisis, resilience, and change.
These are not distant headlines: they are lived realities, told by those closest to them.
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One context about the Sister Hong saga is the crackdown on sex work. The authorities have used AI to detect sex talk and transactions in chatrooms, but free sex is not illegal... globalvoices.org/2025/07/21/w...
Nut Brother's disappearance has become part of his art performance in the authoritarian state, as people are asking Where are you, my bro. This time, it is a bit more sensitive as it is the state policy to boost coal output. globalvoices.org/2025/07/11/w...
🗨️ Thanks to our amazing #GVLingua volunteers, this post was written in English, español, italiano, português, Türkçe, ελληνικά, Deutsch, Igbo, العربية, srpski.
At Global Voices, we believe the news shouldn't flow in just one language. (1/2🧵)
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Between January 2024 and March 2025, Chinese law enforcement authorities arrested 1,546 people for criminal activities, including human trafficking and fraudulent matchmaking schemes. globalvoices.org/2025/06/06/c...
What's at stake is not just the CK Hutchison's deal but the status of HK as a free trade center and the potential escalation of geopolitical tension between China and the U.S. globalvoices.org/2025/03/31/c...
This time the mobilization is big, considering that most protesters had to bear political risks when they enter hk, macau or china. globalvoices.org/2025/03/21/w...
The recent development in the U.S reminds me of the sci-fi "The Three Body Problem" on how a decent scientist decided to work with aliens to bring an end to the world against the backdrop of the cultural revolution in china.
I was an optimist about the cross strait relationship before. But now it’s a very heavy topic… globalvoices.org/2025/03/14/c...
More and more Chinese companies are investing overseas to prevent trade disputes. But the cheap production cost has been highly exploitative back home. Now it tries to export that offshore globalvoices.org/2025/03/10/a...
"A rising East and decling West" had been a joke until Trump became the U.S president. globalvoices.org/2025/03/08/c...
I love Li Xueqin's performance. Her jokes are full of social commentaries about gender stereotypes, regional inequality and youth unemployment. Any successful comedian has to be a censorship fighter. globalvoices.org/2025/03/04/h...
... “total shutdown” is planned for March 15...
Website for the General Strike:
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OPPOSE! PLEASE REPOST!
☝🏼 Now is a great time to get those encrypted apps, secure your accounts, and keep your personal life off the public internet.
Our checklist is here to help. There's tips on organizing mutual aid groups, attending protests, getting reproductive care, etc. etc.
zebracrossing.narwhalacademy.org
GV's next Managing Director will work closely with Executive Director Malka Older to guide the organization and plan the next chapter of our work as we enter our 21st year.
Anywhere we can get the emigration data? After covid lockdowns, many have left the country, is there a comprehensive estimation on the figure?
Very true
Mine is a separate phone for Chinese apps. So Chinese content only. On weibo many said about one third of the posts became tt refugees at its peak… but they adjusted the ai later (last night much less refugee content)
7. Most tters want to tell express anger towards us gov, zuck & musk. But influencers highlighted their reaction on healthcare & living cost diff to present the superiority of socialism without mentioning 600 million cn monthly income under 1000 rmb (2020). Xhs is for urban middle class.
6. For the first 2-3 days, the number of contents tagged TikTok refugee was about 60,000 in the search. But yesterday it jumped to more than half a millions as Chinese xhs users picked up the tag to invite conversation from tters.
5. Language barriers is difficult to overcome. Most posts didn’t have meaningful exchanges because cn readers don’t understand English. In one video, the TTer criticised western propaganda with a headline on the video. But attracted some rude comments as cn readers thought she criticised China.
4. There are many bots giving same welcoming messages or cat photos to the new arrivals.
3. the censor has deleted or hidden a lot of content, but we don’t know the scale. Some content vanished either because of ai or censorship. Eg, a tiktoker asked tips to prevent account delete, there were very interesting exchanges but the post disappeared & unsearchable after I refreshed timeline
2. I have a xhs account for two years for research. Since my kid uses it to watch fun videos, the a.i always promote similar content to me. But during the hype, the timeline is flooded with new arrivals’ content, it seems that the platform has adjusted its ai to welcome tiktokers.
1. Many media outlets pointed to a livestream chat room “tiktok refugee’s home” when reporting about the interaction between chinese xhs users and u.s tiktokers. The comparison of the medical expenses was highlighted. But it is not clear who hosted it? Who set the agenda? What else did they discuss?
