Li Ying, 33, who goes by the nickname “Teacher Li,” is today likely China’s most effective dissident. He has managed to do something that Xi Jinping’s regime wants to avoid at all costs: He is able to share uncensored information with hundreds of thousands of fellow Chinese. He has two million followers on X and operates a daily news broadcast on YouTube. He calls himself “Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher,” a brand of humor that matches up well with his profile picture: a hand-drawn kitten. “China’s most dangerous cat,” as he is fond of joking.
torsdag 19. juni 2025
"Teacher Li": Catching Up with China's Most Effective Dissident
It’s Li’s first ever visit to Taiwan. He is here for a human rights conference in the island state off the coast of China. It has been several years since he has been so close to his homeland, with his last visit to China coming in 2019, back when he was studying art in Italy and posting short stories on the internet. Had he left it at that, he would have the option of boarding a plane tomorrow morning and, two hours later, arriving in the country he still loves, as he says. “But for me, there is no going back.”
Li Ying, 33, who goes by the nickname “Teacher Li,” is today likely China’s most effective dissident. He has managed to do something that Xi Jinping’s regime wants to avoid at all costs: He is able to share uncensored information with hundreds of thousands of fellow Chinese. He has two million followers on X and operates a daily news broadcast on YouTube. He calls himself “Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher,” a brand of humor that matches up well with his profile picture: a hand-drawn kitten. “China’s most dangerous cat,” as he is fond of joking.
Li Ying, 33, who goes by the nickname “Teacher Li,” is today likely China’s most effective dissident. He has managed to do something that Xi Jinping’s regime wants to avoid at all costs: He is able to share uncensored information with hundreds of thousands of fellow Chinese. He has two million followers on X and operates a daily news broadcast on YouTube. He calls himself “Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher,” a brand of humor that matches up well with his profile picture: a hand-drawn kitten. “China’s most dangerous cat,” as he is fond of joking.
