CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for September 2025

CDT presents a brand new month-to-month collection of censored content material that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content material Archive.” Every month, we are going to publish a abstract of content material blocked or deleted (typically yielding the message “404: content material not discovered”) from Chinese language platforms akin to WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Bilibili, Zhihu, Douban, and others. Though this content material archived by CDT Chinese language editors represents solely a small fraction of the web content material that disappears every day from the Chinese language web, it offers worthwhile perception into which matters are thought of “delicate” over time by the Social gathering-state, our on-line world authorities, and platform censors. Our absolutely searchable Chinese language-language “404 Deleted Content material Archive” presently accommodates 2,243 deleted articles, essays, and different items of content material. The entry for every deleted merchandise consists of the writer/social media account title, the unique publishing platform, the subject material, the date of deletion, and extra data.

Beneath is a abstract of deleted content material from September 2025. Between September 1-30, CDT Chinese language added 21 new articles, principally from WeChat, to the archive. Matters focused for deletion in September included: the multiplatform ban on influencers Hu Chenfeng and Zhang Xuefeng; Nepal’s Gen-Z protest motion; labor rights for food-delivery riders; the suitable to watch felony trials and broader stress on citizen journalism; issues in official information protection; financial prospects and precarity; home violence; an accident involving hazardous waste; official misconduct; and patriotic cinema. (Word that the dates on this abstract seek advice from when an article was printed on the CDT web site, not when it was deleted from Chinese language social-media platforms.)

1. “A Henan Public Safety Bureau Chief Demanded I Retract My Article, and Requested Me ‘What Kind of Paperwork’ They Wanted to Present,” from WeChat account Li Yu Chen
   September 1, 2025

Li Yu Chen printed an article concerning the arrest of the spouse of Liu Haonan, a Public Safety Bureau (PSB) deputy below investigation in Xiping County, Zhumadian, Henan province. After Liu’s spouse protested her husband’s innocence on-line, she too was arrested—by a former colleague of her husband with a vested curiosity in his case. In a now-deleted followup article, Li Yu Chen describes receiving two calls for on August 26 to retract the primary article. One demand got here by way of electronic mail from somebody claiming to be a prosecutor and citing “defamation”; the opposite was a textual content message from an nameless account claiming to characterize “PSB management” and citing “violation of privateness.” When pressed for identification, each contacts offered the identical prosecutor’s ID card photograph, suggesting both identification theft or impersonation. Li argues that this contradictory stress marketing campaign—claiming each defamation and violation of privateness—serves to verify the unique article’s accuracy and native officers’ deep concern of accountability. After publishing this text, the Li Yu Chen WeChat account was instantly blocked.

2. “Whole Mobilization?” from WeChat finance weblog moomoocat
   September 5, 2025

An article from finance blogger moomoocat about two puzzling on-line occasions. The primary gave the impression to be a coordinated marketing campaign by numerous authorities social media accounts—together with many with no connection to finance or markets, such because the Ministry of Public Safety, the Ministry of Justice, municipal authorities accounts, and departments of tradition, tourism, and environmental safety—to advertise an article titled “International Monetary Establishments: Present Chinese language Inventory-Market Valuations Are Cheap, and Traders Are Usually Optimistic In regards to the Future.” The second was Caixin’s deletion of a report, screenshotted and broadly shared on-line, a couple of Chinese language official below investigation. Though moomoocat didn’t title the official, his point out of a latest Reuters report makes it probably he was referring to former securities watchdog chief Yi Huiman, reportedly below investigation for corruption.

3. “In Mengcun, Hebei, The Loss of life of a ‘Good Spouse,’” from Phoenix Information
   September 5, 2025

A protracted-form investigative report by Phoenix Information reporters Wang Wenqing and Wang Zhiyan about Liu Yuqing, a 25-year-old lady who was crushed to dying by her husband in late August. The report paperwork the years of home violence that Liu suffered, and options interviews together with her pals, household, and former schoolmates. Liu’s case sparked nationwide outrage after the revelation that whereas the reason for her dying was blunt drive trauma to the top, it was initially recorded as a coronary heart assault, probably as a result of her husband’s household was well-connected regionally and held sway on the hospital. (Liu’s husband was later detained on suspicion of murder, and her mother-in-law on suspicion of serving to to destroy or fabricate proof.)

4. “Does Working as a Meals-Supply Rider Shorten Your Lifespan?” by Zheng Luyue for Meals Information Company
   September 6, 2025

This text by nutritionist Zheng Luyue discusses among the well being dangers going through China’s over 10 million food-delivery riders, together with poor diet, skipped meals, and elevated heart problems threat. Quoting from research about gig staff within the U.S. and U.Ok., and from gig-economy labor scholar Solar Ping’s e book “Transitional Labor,” Zheng argues that riders’ well-being shouldn’t be sacrificed for platform effectivity and requires recognizing “well being resilience” as a part of labor protections. The article was deleted from Meals Information Company’s official WeChat account, however remained seen on its Douban web page.

5. “After Zhang Xuefeng’s Patriotic Efficiency Backfired, That ‘Esteemed Trainer’ Ought to Step Down,” from WeChat account District 526
   September 8, 2025

A pointy critique of instructional influencer, writer, and college entrance examination tutor Zhang Xuefeng, who was lately hit with a multiplatform ban after he promised to donate 50 million yuan personally, and 100 million yuan from his firm, if the Chinese language authorities determined to launch a navy invasion of Taiwan. The article, certainly one of three deleted items on Zhang Xuefeng added to the CDT archive this month, condemns Zhang’s use of violent and nationalist rhetoric, together with his previous claims that Japan must be Chinese language territory, as a cynical “patriotic advertising” ploy gone awry.

6. “I Witnessed the ‘Standing Anxiousness’ of an Bizarre Author,” by Huang Zhijie (WeChat account Yo Yo Lu Ming)
   September 8, 2025

An article a couple of author from Hunan who was criminally detained in a neighboring province for criticizing a township Social gathering secretary. Commentator and unbiased journalist Huang Zhijie notes that the author was utilizing a doubtful media credential from an unregistered web site, revealing the “standing anxiousness” and authorized dangers that afflict unbiased writers and journalists in China. Huang argues for higher protections for this rising class of public curiosity writers, who cowl essential tales that mainstream media can not or won’t pursue. “Lots of my former colleagues have left investigative journalism or modified careers,” writes Huang, “whereas some well-known writers have merely disappeared or retired. […] How many individuals are prepared to threat being accused of ‘choosing quarrels and upsetting bother’ and having to cope with fixed anxiousness of getting no standing or protections?”

7. “Nepal’s Gen Z Revolution: Authorities’s Social Media Ban Ignites Younger Folks’s Fury,” from WeChat account Bruce’s Abroad Journal
   September 10, 2025

The article describes the backdrop to September’s Gen Z protests that introduced down the federal government in Nepal, fueled by anger over the federal government’s ban on 26 social media platforms (together with Fb, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and X), rampant nepotism scandals, and socioeconomic points akin to poverty, inequality, and excessive unemployment. The writer concludes that the protests characterize a deeper generational awakening, as leaderless younger protesters demanded systemic political reform.

8. “Tsinghua College Official Web site Deletes Regulation Faculty Professor Lao Dongyan’s 2016 Graduation Speech,” Tsinghua College web site
   September 10, 2025

Tsinghua College Regulation Faculty Professor Lao Dongyan‘s 2016 graduation tackle was deleted from the college’s official web site someday between February 2023 and September 2025. Lao is an advocate of free speech and rule of regulation, an opponent of the nationwide web ID plan, and a critic of extreme use of surveillance know-how, together with facial recognition. A few of her on-line articles have been deleted previously, and her Weibo account has been topic to not less than two short-term bans in 2022 and 2024. Her now-deleted graduation speech urged graduates to “to not be simply misled by others,” and emphasised the significance of unbiased pondering, rejecting political opportunism, understanding rule of regulation, and balancing authorized experience with ethical judgment. She criticized “soulless specialists” who grasp strategies however ignore justice; inspired ladies to pursue independence over marriage; and concluded by encouraging college students to “change the world, beginning with ourselves.” (For a full translation of Lao’s speech, see David Cowhig’s translation weblog.)

9. “The Proper to Observe Trials Should Not Be Illegally Denied,” from WeChat account Legal Protection World
   September 11, 2025

A authorized evaluation of a September 10 incident wherein Wu Yunpeng, a citizen journalist who chronicles courtroom proceedings, was detained for 5 days for allegedly publishing “inaccurate” content material and “impersonating” a member of the family to attend a authorized listening to on the Guancheng District Courtroom in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The writer argued that public trials ought to permit any citizen to watch and take notes on the proceedings, and that court-imposed limits on observers violate China’s constitutional precept of open trials. As well as, the writer notes that on condition that the courtroom case Wu was observing concerned the Guancheng Public Safety Bureau, that very same bureau had completely no authority to evaluate the accuracy of Wu’s observations concerning their very own case.

10. “A number of Zhengzhou Attorneys Debate ‘Police Jurisdictional Seize’ in Courtroom; Courtroom Detains Observer Who Recorded the Debate and Fingers Them Over to the Police,” by WeChat blogger Li Yuchen
    September 11, 2025

An in depth account of Wu Yunpeng’s arrest, his background as a citizen journalist, and the specifics of the trial he was observing: a case of alleged organized crime that protection legal professionals characterised as a jurisdictional seize, motivated by police efficiency quotas. The article reveals how observing and writing about trials will be extra harmful than lawbreaking itself. “Typically, probably the most subversive habits isn’t breaking the regulation, however documenting it,” writes Li. “What the system most fears isn’t the criminals who exploit authorized loopholes, however the odd folks sitting within the again row with their pens and eyeglasses.”

11. “Prime Minister Resigns, Authorities Buildings Burned… What Occurred in Nepal?” from Phoenix Information
    September 12, 2025

This report on the escalating protests in Nepal was first printed on Guanchazhe.com on Sept. 9 and subsequently republished on different websites. NetEase deleted it on Sept. 10, and two days later, it had been deleted from most Chinese language web sites, aside from a couple of native information websites. (Different content material associated to Nepal’s Gen Z protests was additionally closely censored on Chinese language social media.) The report describes the protests that broke out in Nepal following a nationwide ban on quite a few social media platforms, the clashes between protesters and police that left 19 lifeless and over 100 injured, and the resignation of Nepali Prime Minister Oli and several other different authorities ministers. The piece additionally offers some background: Nepal’s 48.1% social-media utilization fee, the best in South Asia, mixed with financial stagnation, corruption, and nepotism scandals sparked unrest in a rustic the place 77.4% of the inhabitants is rural and remittances make up 33.1% of GDP.

12. “A BL-Loving Woman Who Married a Homosexual Man,” from WeChat account Tongqi Assist Community (a assist community for the wives of homosexual males)
    September 13, 2025

The preface to this text quotes a 2005 CCTV interview by journalist Chai Jing with a homosexual man who defined why he determined to marry a girl, regardless of being conscious of his sexual orientation: “A good friend stated my mother and father would sooner imagine that rivers stream backward than imagine that homosexuality exists.” The article consists of screenshots of an interview with Xiaoxue, a girl who unknowingly married a homosexual man, filed for divorce after six months, and stays estranged from her ex and her mother and father—all of whom blame her for the dissolution of the wedding. Regardless of this expertise, Xiaoxue stays a powerful supporter of homosexual rights and an ardent fan of danmei (or BL) fiction, which depicts romantic relationships between male protagonists.

13. “‘Bone-Dissolving Liquid’ Claims a Life in Hangzhou: Bizarre Folks Shouldn’t Be Sacrificed to Skilled Negligence,” by Zhang Yunsu for the WeChat account Incorrect
    September 18, 2025

An article a couple of 52-year-old lady in Hangzhou who died of multiple-organ failure 5 days after stepping on a discarded container of hydrofluoric acid—a chemical so extremely corrosive that it has been dubbed “bone-dissolving liquid.” Three containers of the hazardous chemical, which had been illegally disposed of by a contractor in 2015, had remained undetected for a decade, regardless of rules requiring strict monitoring of hazardous supplies. The writer criticizes insufficient oversight, requires higher monitoring of hazardous waste and stronger enforcement towards unlawful dumping, and warns readers that many widespread family merchandise additionally comprise corrosive chemical compounds.

14. “On-the-Avenue Interviews with Supply Riders: Their Trials, Tribulations, and Frosty Response to the New Social Insurance coverage Coverage,” from WeChat account Aquarius Period
    September 20, 2025

This collection of interviews with meals supply riders in Guangzhou was initially printed by (and continues to be obtainable on) the WeChat account Aquarius Period, however a model reprinted by the sustainable-agriculture WeChat account Foodthink has been deleted. Interviewees have been largely detached to the brand new obligatory social insurance coverage necessities, with one respondent saying, “I won’t stay to 63 [the age at which pension benefits kick in].” The interviews reveal riders’ excessive financial precarity and concern about algorithmic controls, gruelling work hours, and the hazard of visitors accidents.

15. “Shanghai Baoshan District Folks’s Procuratorate: Chief Prosecutor Solar Lin, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Wang Xiaolin, and Prosecutor Zhu Jialin Refuse to Fulfill Their Procuratorial Supervision Duties,” from WeChat account But One other Deep-Sea Fishing Expedition
    September 23, 2025

A proper grievance letter from the households of the defendants within the “Hengwan” case, accusing police and prosecutors in Shanghai’s Baoshan District of illegally concentrating on the Beijing-based instructional firm to satisfy 2023 anti-fraud marketing campaign quotas. (This type of cross-provincial, policing-for-profit expedition is named “deep-sea fishing.”) Prosecutors are alleging that Hengwan defrauded its college students. The letter alleges that prosecutors copied-and-pasted police interrogation transcripts, and that police fabricated proof, cast signatures, buried exculpatory proof, and have been negligent in interviewing supposed witnesses. The grievance argues this “deep-sea fishing” operation represented a battle of curiosity and violated guidelines governing jurisdiction and due course of.

16. “The ‘Web Superstar Observe’ Has No House for Hu Chenfeng,” from WeChat account Like Mild
    September 23, 2025

This WeChat article discusses the latest multiplatform ban on in style way of life influencer and livestreamer Hu Chenfeng, summarizes a few of his extra controversial opinions (akin to describing haves and have-nots as “Apple folks vs. Android folks”) and speculates about why he may need been banned. Most significantly, the article strongly criticizes the arbitrary nature of such platform bans, arguing that they’re opaque, unfair, and counterproductive. “It has lengthy been widespread observe for platforms to not disclose the precise causes for account bans,” the writer writes. “Whereas this observe ostensibly permits for regulatory leeway, the very fact is that it violates the elemental necessities of clear governance.”

17. “Heavy Topic Matter Ought to Not Turn out to be a ‘Fig Leaf’ for Dangerous Movies,” from WeChat account “The sky actually desires rain” and Douban
    September 23, 2025

A WeChat article satirizing official claims of “unanimous reward” for the patriotic blockbuster “Evil Unbound” (Chinese language title “731”), adopted by a compilation of adverse opinions from the film-review website Douban. A number of the reviewers referred to as the movie, which presently has a 3.2 score on IMDb, a cynical “insult to historical past,” identified its myriad plot holes and plagiarism from different movies, and complained that essential opinions have been being systematically deleted by censors.

18. “Now that Zhang Xuefeng’s Accounts Have Been Blocked, Does His 100-Million-Yuan Pledge Nonetheless Depend?” from WeChat account Private Reminiscence Financial institution
    September 24, 2025

A brief article condemning lately deplatformed instructional influencer Zhang Xuefeng’s flip towards nationalist rhetoric and his exorbitant pledge to donate 100 million yuan to assist a Chinese language invasion of Taiwan. The writer interprets Zhang’s newfound nationalism as a cynical and in the end failed ploy to extend his personal on-line viewership and income, which have been threatened by declining faculty enrollment. He likens Zhang to different performative patriots akin to “Wolf Warrior” actor, director, and martial artist Wu Jing (Jacky Wu). The writer writes that such “patriotic fare is the final refuge of scoundrels,” and concludes with this: “They’ve been plaguing our nation for too lengthy! Who’s breeding these parasites?”

19. “Zhang Xuefeng By chance Steps on a New Crimson Line,” from WeChat account Like Mild
    September 25, 2025

Like Mild’s second censored article posits that Zhang Xuefeng was banned not for his saber-rattling or his promised 100-million-yuan donation to fund a hypothetical invasion of Taiwan, however for falling afoul of a brand new Our on-line world Administration of China (CAC) marketing campaign to get rid of sure types of “malicious negativity” on-line. The writer factors to some particular wording within the CAC announcement that might apply to a rich and highly effective instructional “guru” akin to Zhang: “…fabricating false identities or personas akin to ‘guru’ or ‘skilled,’ and peddling anxiousness concerning employment, marriage, training, and so forth., in an effort to promote merchandise or programs.” The writer additionally requires larger transparency from our on-line world authorities, noting that Zhang, after years of efficiently navigating crimson strains, probably met his downfall just because the authorities abruptly moved the goalposts.

20. “TV Station Reviews Rice Yields of Ten Thousand Jin Per Mu? This Is in 2025…” by Xiang Dongliang
    September 25, 2025

An article satirizing a CCTV interview with a farmer in Jilin who claimed that his 50-mu (3.3 hectare) rice area would yield 750,000 jin (over 82,000 kilos)—a ten-fold enhance over the insanely inflated rice yields touted by authorities propagandists in the course of the Nice Leap Ahead. Xiang, as a former agricultural reporter, understood that the farmer probably bought nervous on digital camera and misspoke, having meant to say “75,000 jin.” After Chinese language social media customers observed the error, CCTV quietly edited out that portion of the web interview. In Xiang’s opinion, the truth that the error was allowed to air displays an general decline in TV information high quality as a result of funds cuts, workers reductions, and the prioritization of propagandistic content material over correct reporting. As for the way forward for TV information, Xiang writes, “I doubt it will likely be capable of survive for much longer.”

21. “Taken Collectively, Aren’t These Two Information Tales a Bit Too Ironic?” from WeChat account Unyielding Bamboo
    September 29, 2025

A satirical comparability of two tales about petty corruption that belie the various extra critical corruption scandals being censored, neglected, and under-reported. One was the case of Fan Xihua, a municipal official in Hunan who was expelled from his place and the Social gathering for being “too useful” to citizen petitioners. The opposite was Li Rui, a celebration secretary in Yunnan Province accused of accepting numerous small items and buying liquor in bulk to be used in official receptions.

Lastly, here’s a temporary abstract of deleted content material from August 2025. Between August 1-31, 2025, CDT Chinese language added a further 47 articles to our “404 Deleted Content material Archive.” Our testing indicated that each one of those had been deleted from a number of Chinese language social media platforms; the overwhelming majority have been from WeChat. Main matters focused for deletion in August 2025 included:

• Spontaneous mass protests in Jiangyou, Sichuan province, in assist of a bullied schoolgirl and her mother and father.
• “Badge-flashing incident” in Fangchenggang, Guangxi province: Criticism of native regulation enforcement for giving a slap-on-the-wrist punishment to a Mercedes-driving lady who used her husband’s official fire-marshal ID card to drive one other driver to yield to her in visitors. On-line commenters additionally criticized the police for anonymizing the girl’s title of their official assertion on the case, whereas revealing the total title of the victimized driver, and for turning a blind eye to those that use family members’ official credentials to intimidate others.
• Yang Lanlan’s automobile crash in Sydney, Australia: There was intense on-line curiosity within the story of a 23-year-old Chinese language lady who was launched pending trial in Sydney for crashing her customized Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV into one other automobile, critically injuring the opposite driver. Chinese language censors deleted quite a few articles and feedback speculating concerning the quantity of Yang’s bail, her supply of wealth, and attainable high-powered household connections.
• Podcast “Eight and a Half Minutes” (八分半, Bā fēn bàn) banned from Chinese language streaming platforms after the host mentioned Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media mogul going through nationwide safety costs. The podcast, hosted by Hong Kong author, commentator, and host Leung Man-tao, continues to be obtainable on Apple Podcasts.
• Anti-climactic finish to the investigation of the Peking Union Medical School/4+4 scandal: There was continued censorship of content material concerning the gentle or insufficient punishment and disappointing investigative report into the scandal, which concerned a medical intern who used plagiarized analysis, altered educational transcripts, and household connections to fast-track her profession.
• A sexual harassment incident on the Wuhan College library: censored content material included articles purportedly inciting “gender antagonism” or criticizing the college’s lack of transparency within the case.
• Criticism of the brand new “obligatory social insurance coverage” coverage, together with considerations about insufficient public session beforehand and whether or not the brand new coverage, which took impact September 1, would tackle urban-rural and public-private inequalities within the pension system.