Since Xi took office in late 2012, the targets of censorship and offline repression have broadened beyond the “usual suspects” of the Hu Jintao period. Of 17 potential target groups identified by Freedom House researchers for a recent study, 11 experienced an increase in arrests, imprisonment, beatings, and other forms of abuse. Among the victims are people whose activities were until recently considered to be on the safe side of the party’s red lines: prominent social media commentators, civic-minded entrepreneurs, labor rights activists, and public health organizations, to name a few. Now women’s rights activists have joined that list. Read more
