CDT presents a month-to-month collection of censored content material that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content material Archive.” Every month, we publish a abstract of content material blocked or deleted (typically yielding the message “404: content material not discovered”) from Chinese language platforms corresponding to WeChat, Weibo, Douyin (TikTok’s counterpart within the Chinese language market), Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Bilibili, Zhihu, Douban, and others. Though this content material archived by CDT Chinese language editors represents solely a small fraction of the net content material that disappears every day from the Chinese language web, it offers precious 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,” at present comprises 2,397 deleted articles, essays, and different items of content material. The entry for every deleted merchandise contains the creator/social media account title, the unique publishing platform, the subject material, the date of deletion, and extra info.
Beneath is Half Considered one of CDT’s abstract of deleted content material from January 2026. Between January 1-31, CDT Chinese language added 55 new articles, principally from WeChat, to the archive. Matters focused for deletion in January included:
• Maduro and Venezuela: Chinese language reactions to the U.S. seize of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse by U.S. forces; Chinese language and worldwide media protection of Venezuela; and what latest occasions might imply for Sino-Venezuelan relations.
• Hebei’s rural heating disaster: Many aged and rural residents in Hebei, braving subzero temperatures, have been unable afford to pay for heating this winter on account of a mixture of hovering power costs, plummeting natural-gas subsidies, and strict bans on the burning of “unfastened coal” following that area’s “coal-to-gas” conversion that launched in 2017. (This was one of the censored on-line matters in January: 16 of CDT’s 55 archived articles final month involved Hebei’s power woes.)
• Sharp birthrate decline: China’s annual birthrate fell under eight million in 2025, a report low, fueling on-line dialogue about demographics, pro-natalist authorities insurance policies, and the “interval police.”
• Jia Guolong and Luo Yonghao spat: An acrimonious public dispute between influencer Luo Yonghao and Xibei restaurant chain founder Jia Guolong culminated in each of their Weibo accounts being suspended.
• Gender double requirements and misogyny: There have been a number of posts on sexism and double requirements in society, and public outcry over a controversial choice to not prosecute a rape case in Heshun county, Shanxi province, as a result of the person concerned was “motivated by the need to start out a household” with a mentally ailing girl.
• On-line influencer “Lao A”: After rising to fame for coining the phrase “kill line” to explain poverty and homelessness within the U.S., Lao A continued to generate controversy over his misogynistic statements about Chinese language ladies who dwell or examine overseas.
• Complaints about bare artwork: Stories of complaints a few nude statue of Yang Guifei rising from her bathtub resulted in a flood of memes and outrageous vogue solutions about dress her nudity.
• The way forward for Iran: A blogger contemplated the potential of regime change in Iran as diplomatic stress mounts.
• Generational variations: An article requested which technology had it worse—the “Submit-80s,” “Submit-90s,” or “Submit-00s”?
(Word that the dates within the abstract under check with when an article was printed on the CDT web site, not when it was deleted from Chinese language social-media platforms.)
- “Pangu Labs Broadcasts iOS 26.1 Jailbreak,” WeChat account 盘古石取证(Pángǔ shí qǔzhèng, Pangu Labs)
January 1
The staff at Pangu Labs, recognized for his or her previous iOS jailbreaks, introduced a jailbreak of iOS 26.1 to permit information extraction from purposes corresponding to Telegram. The CDT Chinese language editors’ observe on this archived submit mentions the subject attracted consideration on abroad social media websites and sparked heated on-line dialogue.
- “We Attempt to Report Tales That Go Past the ‘White Textual content on a Blue Background’ of Official Statements,” by Yang Bao, WeChat account Aquarius Period
January 1
This longform year-end piece from freelance journalism collective Aquarius Period options over a dozen investigative journalists discussing the tales they reported on final yr. Matters embrace a glance again on the early days of the COVID pandemic in Wuhan; Nepal’s “Gen-Z” protests; the arrests of authors of on-line danmei (or BL) fiction; a number of instances of environmental air pollution; a number of ongoing labor disputes and protests by staff demanding again wages; and the cancellations of Japanese live shows in China amid rising Sino-Japanese diplomatic tensions. A number of commentators have beforehand lamented PRC information shops’ rising reliance on politically protected “blue background” statements over unbiased newsgathering.
- “People who smoke Are the ‘First to Wake’ in 2026: Why Are So Many Individuals Quitting Smoking This 12 months?” By Xu Peng, WeChat account Historical past Rhymes
January 2
Present-affairs blogger Xu Peng feedback on the uptick in Chinese language social-media posts by folks vowing to give up smoking in 2026. He posits numerous causes for this, together with a higher consciousness of the risks of smoking and second-hand smoke, a deliberate rise in cigarette taxes, and the need to save cash or spend it on members of the family as an alternative of enriching state-owned tobacco corporations. Xu Peng additionally strongly encourages his readers to surrender the behavior if they’ve it, and to share his submit broadly to lift consciousness of the risks of smoking.
- “My Interview With a Venezuelan Good friend After the U.S. Seize of Maduro,” by 边城蝴蝶梦 (Biānchéng húdié mèng, “Bordertown butterfly dream”), WeChat Account Port Youth
January 5
The creator, a Chinese language blogger residing in Canada, interviews a Canada-based Venezuelan pal “Arg” about his ideas on the seize of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse by U.S. forces on January 3, and what it would bode for Venezuela’s future. Arg describes how he, his spouse, and two sons fled—first to Mexico and finally to Canada—in an effort to escape poverty, crime, and political strife of their native Venezuela. Arg confides that whereas he and his Venezuelan mates celebrated the information of Maduro’s downfall, he stays unsure about Venezuela’s future, nervous concerning the potential for political instability, and saddened that he and his household “can by no means return.” (Within the CDT Chinese language roundup of “delicate phrases” from January, our editors detected many associated censored phrase mixtures throughout Chinese language social media platforms, together with: “launch + Maduro,” “Maduro + beheading,” “Maduro + US army,” “Trump + Venezuela,” “launch + political prisoners,” “Maduro + Emperor Xi,” and “Maduro + downfall.”)
- “Who Is Venezuela’s Actual Enemy?” 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 5
This text from a politically themed WeChat account argues that Venezuela’s true enemies aren’t exterior forces such because the U.S. or the West, however inner forces of despotism, ignorance, and servility that allowed leaders Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro to dismantle Venezuela’s democratic establishments, nationalize the oil business, and create a corrupt system of patronage that dragged the nation, as soon as one in every of Latin America’s wealthiest, into poverty. The creator cites a spread of thinkers to bolster his arguments—quoting from St. Augustine, Georges Clemenceau, Victor Hugo, and economists Sebastian Edwards and Joseph Stiglitz—and revisits the fierce Could Fourth-era debate between Hu Shi and Liang Shuming about Chinese language vs. Western tradition and what path China should take. Venezuela’s folks will solely obtain true freedom, the creator concludes, once they cease behaving as “topics,” at which level the authoritarian political system will crumble underneath its personal weight.
- “Why ‘Poison Milk’ Li Li and Different ‘Specialists’ Misjudged Maduro: As a result of Their Viewers Laps It Up,” by Mu Bai, WeChat account Mu Bai’s Writing Is Mediocre
January 5
Blogger Mu Bai castigates PLA commentator Li Li and different consultants from prestigious Chinese language establishments who constantly make incorrect predictions about worldwide occasions, for instance by overestimating the resilience of strongmen such Venezuela’s Maduro or Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled from energy in 2024. (Li Li’s monitor report of creating false prophecies—毒奶, dú nǎi, actually “poisoned milk”—has impressed on-line satire: “Whoever she helps is doomed,” and “Her predictions are spot-on, so long as you reverse them.”)
Mu Bai writes that he suspects that many of those commentators are simply telling audiences what they wish to hear. He checks his concept by asking a sixth-grader why the consultants so typically become flawed, and the kid solutions, “That’s how these folks become profitable. They most likely don’t even consider what they’re saying, however it wins them extra supporters and makes their viewers really feel snug.” Mu Bai goes on to cite a number of the unfavourable on-line feedback he has acquired from critics who accuse him of bias or exposing the “darkish underbelly” of China in his writing. He encourages such readers to unfollow him, since he feels they like to be “fed comforting narratives” (喝奶, hē nǎi, actually “drink milk”) that validate their present worldview.
- “In Rural Hebei, Older Residents Are Reluctant to Flip On the Warmth, However They’re Not Simply Being Stingy,” by Xiao Nuo, WeChat account Information Brother
January 5
On this—the primary of 16 deleted articles archived by CDT in January concerning the Hebei heating disaster—current-affairs commentator and Hebei native Xiao Nuo writes concerning the exorbitant winter-heating prices which can be forcing many older, lower-income residents in rural Hebei to ration their pure gasoline use and bundle up in quilts and padded garments. This winter, practically ten years after the province’s coal-to-natural-gas conversion coverage started, initially beneficiant subsidies have been phased out or allowed to lapse, and excessive demand has induced natural-gas costs to skyrocket. Citing a 2025 evaluation by NPC delegate Yang Huisu, Xiao Nuo calculates that the price of heating a typical rural dwelling in Hebei might vary between one-third and one-half of the median annual per-capita earnings there. The creator additionally compares per-cubic-meter pure gasoline prices for rural Hebei and close by Tianjin, and finds that costs in Tianjin are one yuan cheaper per cubic meter, regardless of Tianjin’s a lot increased per-capita disposable earnings. With using cheaper coal-stoves banned and enforced by drone-monitoring and costly fines, and indebted native governments unwilling or unable to supply heating subsidies, a lot of Hebei’s rural residents have discovered themselves between a rock and a chilly place this winter.
- “The Hebei Countryside Shouldn’t Be This Chilly!” by 镜二哥 (Jìng Èrgē, “Brother Lens”), WeChat account 八倍镜世界 Bā bèi jìng shìjiè, “8X Zoom Lens World”)
January 6
This brief piece concerning the winter heating disaster in Hebei begins with a point out of a frankly worded Farmers’ Every day article that was reportedly censored on January 5, however preserved by social-media customers within the type of screenshots: “Hebei’s Rural Heating Disaster Can’t Be Put Off Any Longer.” The creator agrees with the “folks first” message of the Farmers’ Every day article: that whereas lowering coal use and environmental air pollution are important, it’s unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of farmers in Hebei are left shivering in freezing temperatures as a result of they can not afford to pay their natural-gas payments this winter. The implication is that the federal government ought to intervene to assist Hebei’s rural residents, though it’s left unspoken.
- “On-the-Floor Report: Hebei’s Farmers Can’t Afford Heating This Winter,” by Lü Yinling, Phoenix Information “Eye of the Storm”
January 7
Even main Chinese language information shops have been focused within the relentless drive to censor on-line content material concerning the Hebei heating disaster. One instance is that this now-deleted investigative report that includes interviews with aged and low-income residents of a number of villages close to Baoding, Hebei province. Many households, having made the conversion from coal to natural-gas heating in earlier years when authorities clean-energy subsidies have been extra beneficiant, now discover themselves unable to afford the price of heating their properties with pure gasoline all through the winter—an quantity that, for some farmers, would wipe out their total annual disposable earnings. The article describes some households receiving momentary hardship exemptions to revert to utilizing “clear coal” briquette stoves; aged residents gathering outdoor to burn corn cobs and tree roots for heat; and a few households limiting heater use to a couple hours per day, regardless of freezing temperatures.
- “This Winter for Hebei Farmers,” by Zhang Ling and Liu Xiaonuo, WeChat account Financial Observer
January 7
Yet one more censored report from a serious outlet, this in-depth investigation from monetary and enterprise information platform Financial Observer contains interviews with residents grappling with excessive gasoline payments after the sharp discount of presidency subsidies; native cadres tasked with implementing the “coal-to-gas” conversion; and consultants who suggest funding in enhancing insulation in rural properties, in addition to a longer-term plan to diversify from pure gasoline to a mixture of energy-efficient warmth pumps, biomass, and solar energy, relying on native situations.
- “5 Price-Free Options for Hebei’s Winter Heating Disaster,” by Xiang Dongliang, WeChat account Constructive Opinions
January 7
Mocking the disconnect between official propaganda and actuality, this satirical article proposes 5 “cost-free” methods for Hebei residents to remain heat this winter: (1) watching Hebei TV information reviews claiming that heating preparations are full and that each one residents might be heat and toasty this winter; (2) basking within the heat of handwritten “optimistic power” thank-you letters to hardworking native officers; (3) attending heat, indoor, dumpling-making occasions corresponding to one lately publicized by the Hebei Every day Press Group, exhibiting evenly dressed cadres clearly having fun with sufficient heating; (4) becoming a member of “heartwarming” initiatives such because the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated growth initiative; and (5) taking part within the Hebei Communist Youth League’s “Sending Heat” marketing campaign.
- “They’ll Shell Out for Drones to Monitor Coal-Burning Scofflaws, However Not for Heating Subsidies,” by Xiong Taihang, WeChat account Simply Name Me Xiong Taihang
January 8
A brief article criticizing the authorities in Hebei for being prepared to buy drones to watch the unlawful burning of coal, however to not fund subsidies for low-income residents who can now not afford to warmth their properties in winter. The article features a screenshotted commercial from a drone producer suggesting that aerial reconnaissance be carried out between 5:00-7:00 a.m., as a result of it’s the coldest time of day, and thus the perfect time to catch residents illegally burning coal. Xiong compares this merciless enforcement with a narrative his father advised him concerning the Nice Famine in Anhui in 1960. After the native commune canteen ran out of grain, a number of households within the village pooled some grain that they had secreted away and cooked a pot of porridge. Seeing the smoke from their cooking fireplace, the commune dispatched members of the militia, who extinguished the fireplace and dumped the porridge into the ashes. As quickly because the militia left, Xiong’s father and the opposite village youngsters wolfed down the now-ashen porridge because the adults wept.
- “Why Don’t Lao A and His Ilk Care In regards to the Heating Disaster Afflicting Hebei Farmers?” by Ni Ren, WeChat account Ni Ren on Economics
January 8
Blogger Ni Ren (greatest recognized for his economics-focused WeChat account Black Noise) criticizes the hypocrisy of on-line Chinese language nationalist influencers corresponding to “Lao A” who’re fixated on U.S. poverty and the so-called “kill line,” but flip a blind eye to poverty and struggling in their very own midst. Whereas it’s laudable to care concerning the lives of all human beings close to or far, Ni Ren writes, it is sensible to pay shut consideration to at least one’s rapid environment, neighborhood, and nation, as these have the best direct affect on our lives.
- “Hebei’s Clear Power Transition: Offered as an Infrastructure Venture, however Paid for by Farmers,” by Observer No. 1376, WeChat account Beneath the Black Field
January 8
The creator makes the compelling argument that Hebei’s rural “coal-to-gas” conversion was carried out primarily to enhance regional air high quality for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city agglomeration, relatively than for the good thing about rural residents, and that whereas the federal government did finance the preliminary set up of pipes and gear and provide subsidies for numerous years, now that these subsidies have been curtailed, it’s impoverished farmers who’re footing the invoice. Pure gasoline costs have skyrocketed within the countryside, whereas city residents proceed to take pleasure in decrease costs, because of beneficiant municipal subsidies. “You might suppose you’re paying a heating invoice,” writes the creator, “however truly you’re paying off a public infrastructure venture.”
- “The Coldest Time Is When the Information Goes Silent,” WeChat account Nothing to Say Right here
January 8
This text mourns the censorship of reviews on the Hebei heating disaster printed by main industrial and state-media shops, together with the Farmers’ Every day, Pink Star Information, and the Financial Observer. However these articles might have served their function regardless of being deleted, the creator writes, as a result of they’ve drawn nationwide consideration to the difficulty and even perhaps moved the dial of public opinion. The creator pays tribute to shops overlaying the difficulty, and provides their reporters and editors due credit score for attempting.
- “Enduring a Winter on the North China Plain With out Reasonably priced Heating,” by Dong Sheng and Jiang Ou’tong, WeChat account 冷杉RECORD (Lěngshān RECORD, “Fir File”)
January 8
The authors of this well-written longform investigation visited 9 villages on the North China Plain, the place rural residents advised reporters how rising natural-gas costs and the phasing out of subsidies—from an preliminary 1 yuan (14 cents) per cubic meter of pure gasoline to only 0.2 yuan (3 cents) in some locations—have left them unable to afford natural-gas heating this winter. The article describes farmers utilizing warmth for only some hours per day, or heating just one or two rooms, or switching to “eco-friendly” coal briquettes (which locals say produce far much less warmth than conventional unfastened coal). In some homes, gasoline strains have been put in however by no means activated, the pipes at the moment are rusting on exterior partitions, and residents are compelled to depend on banned unfastened coal delivered underneath cowl of night time. A number of better-off residents who invested 15,000-20,000 yuan ($2170-2895) to put in air-source warmth pumps (ASHPs) now face month-to-month electrical energy payments of round 1,000 yuan ($145). A lot of the villagers say they assist lowering air air pollution and need bluer skies, however fear that they, relatively than city residents, are those paying the worth.
- “The Blue Sky Shouldn’t Be Tinged With Blood — Please Enable Aged Rural Residents to Keep Heat This Winter,” WeChat account Will Tomorrow Actually Be Higher?
January 9
On this impassioned essay describing the Hebei heating disaster as a “nationwide shame,” the creator advises policymakers to think about how they’d really feel if it have been their very own aged dad and mom shivering within the countryside, and urges them to take rapid motion to assist rural residents warmth their properties this winter. “A civilized society just isn’t measured by what number of skyscrapers it has,” writes the creator, “however by whether or not it’s prepared to kindle a heat fireplace for essentially the most weak.”
- “Hebei Rural Heating Disaster: The Price of Environmental Safety Ought to Be Shared by Its Beneficiaries,” by Zhu Changjun, WeChat account 风声OPINION (Fēngshēng OPINION)
January 9
On this opinion piece from Fengsheng OPINION, a present affairs-themed WeChat account produced by Phoenix.com’s op-ed division, Zhu Changjun argues that the prices of China’s “coal-to-gas” environmental coverage have been unfairly borne by the agricultural poor. A winter’s heating invoice in rural Hebei can run between 7,500-11,000 yuan ($1085-1590), notes Zhu, however the province’s month-to-month rural pensions are solely 240 yuan ($35) and common rural month-to-month per-capita disposable earnings is lower than 1,900 yuan ($275). The piece requires rapid emergency reduction measures corresponding to momentary subsidies, gas-price controls, and support for needy households, and the institution of a fairer long-term cost-sharing mechanism.
- “How Will Hebei Farmers Survive This Harsh Winter?” by 青松老师 (Qīngsōng Lǎoshī, “Professor Evergreen”), WeChat account 青松参考 (Qīngsōng cānkǎo, “Evergreen Reference”)
January 10
This brief opinion piece argues that Hebei’s rural heating disaster is so life-threatening that it urgently must be elevated to a better political degree, both regional or nationwide, as a result of the indebted province can’t clear up the issue by itself. The creator criticizes unbalanced regional growth and a provincial authorities that has overprioritized infrastructure, industrial-park development, and funding promotion, whereas neglecting the well being and well-being of extraordinary residents. When native governments tackle an excessive amount of debt, the creator notes, it’s typically the latter kind of “comfortable expenditures” that get lower first.
- “Hebei’s Rural Heating Disaster Can’t Be Put Off Any Longer,” by Rao Xueping, WeChat account Farmers’ Every day
January 10
This brief and plainspoken piece was deleted from the Farmers’ Every day WeChat account on January 5, however it had an outsized affect on the talk concerning the heating disaster in Hebei, and was referenced in most of the censored articles that CDT archived all through January. “Resolving the heating disaster going through Hebei’s aged rural residents requires concrete and efficient measures. Moreover,” writes Rao Xueping, “it’s a matter of utmost urgency and can’t be delayed, even for a day.” Rao goes on to make two sturdy arguments: firstly, the authorities ought to use no matter power sources can be found—solar energy, clean-coal stoves, residual power generated from industrial processes, and even conventional coal, if all else fails—in an effort to forestall folks from freezing to dying this winter. Secondly, natural-gas subsidies are a lifeline and should maintain tempo with rising natural-gas costs, relatively than getting used to entice folks into putting in new gasoline heaters and boilers after which being revoked.
- “Hebei’s Aged Rural Residents Are Bearing the Brunt of This Harsh Winter,” by Chen Yiming 113, WeChat account Atypical Buddhist
January 10
This text covers a lot of the identical floor as a number of the earlier posts archived in January. Chen Yiming chalks up the heating disaster in Hebei to components corresponding to low rural incomes, excessive natural-gas costs, shrinking subsidies, and poorly insulated rural housing. As somebody who grew up in a coal-mining city in Shanxi coal metropolis, Chen is acquainted with urban-rural disparities, and highlights the unfairness of Hebei’s rural residents being compelled to pay 10-30% extra for pure gasoline than residents of Beijing or Tianjin, regardless of incomes which can be roughly half of what staff in these megacities earn. Beneath the primary textual content is a number of reader feedback on the article: expressions of sympathy for Hebei’s aged farmers, an accusation that the disaster is “man-made” and brought on by power value gouging, a suggestion that subsidies have been “siphoned off” by varied ranges of presidency, and a sarcastic query about why the federal government remains to be “permitting” Hebei residents to entry the web and vent their frustrations.
Half Two will observe quickly.
