Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋
@yaqiu.bsky.social
Chinese human rights and democracy advocate | Fellow at University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression | https://www.wangyaqiu.com/ | 勇气是最珍贵的品质
While citizens use new technologies to resist oppression, authoritarian regimes are even more adept at harnessing those same tools to strengthen it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/b...
Anthropic Says Chinese Hackers Used Its A.I. in Online Attack
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
While citizens use new technologies to resist oppression, authoritarian regimes are even more adept at harnessing those same tools to strengthen it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/b...
It’s frustrating that the Trump administration goes soft on actual CCP agents, yet is unwelcoming toward ordinary immigrants and asylum seekers, including those from China. www.wsj.com/world/china/...
November 12, 2025 at 4:08 PM
It’s frustrating that the Trump administration goes soft on actual CCP agents, yet is unwelcoming toward ordinary immigrants and asylum seekers, including those from China. www.wsj.com/world/china/...
"While he was awaiting sentencing, he and his wife attended Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January." -- The president of the United State right now is the biggest national security threat to the country. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Trump Approves Pardon for Ex-Officer Convicted in a Chinese Government Plot
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:58 AM
"While he was awaiting sentencing, he and his wife attended Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January." -- The president of the United State right now is the biggest national security threat to the country. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
This administration is an utter disgrace. So many of us came to this country precisely because in the United States of America, anyone can "hide behind the First Amendment," aka, enjoy the right to free speech.
November 5, 2025 at 8:05 PM
This administration is an utter disgrace. So many of us came to this country precisely because in the United States of America, anyone can "hide behind the First Amendment," aka, enjoy the right to free speech.
Huge respect to @lauratmurphy.bsky.social for her tenacious fight for academic freedom, labor rights and minority rights all at once. Let Sheffield Hallam be a lesson: appeasing the CCP doesn't save you; it backfires spectacularly, because there are people who care and will fight.
November 3, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Huge respect to @lauratmurphy.bsky.social for her tenacious fight for academic freedom, labor rights and minority rights all at once. Let Sheffield Hallam be a lesson: appeasing the CCP doesn't save you; it backfires spectacularly, because there are people who care and will fight.
The China threat is real, but that shouldn’t be a reason for anti-Chinese racism.
Anti-Chinese racism is real, but that shouldn’t be a reason for avoiding discussing the China threat.
Anti-Chinese racism is real, but that shouldn’t be a reason for avoiding discussing the China threat.
October 31, 2025 at 3:25 PM
The China threat is real, but that shouldn’t be a reason for anti-Chinese racism.
Anti-Chinese racism is real, but that shouldn’t be a reason for avoiding discussing the China threat.
Anti-Chinese racism is real, but that shouldn’t be a reason for avoiding discussing the China threat.
Throughout my career, I have never been in the business of advocating Xi’s CCP to reform, nor am I now going to urge the Trump admin to “do the right thing,” such as pressing China on human rights issues. Rotten leaders like these two only deserve accountability, not “please, please, do better.”
October 30, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Throughout my career, I have never been in the business of advocating Xi’s CCP to reform, nor am I now going to urge the Trump admin to “do the right thing,” such as pressing China on human rights issues. Rotten leaders like these two only deserve accountability, not “please, please, do better.”
Now is the time to look forward. Those who care about independent journalism - who care about telling the stories of human rights abuses and the struggle for freedom and dignity - must step up and support this vital work.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...
Radio Free Asia Will Halt News Operations Amid Shutdown
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Now is the time to look forward. Those who care about independent journalism - who care about telling the stories of human rights abuses and the struggle for freedom and dignity - must step up and support this vital work.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...
Sigh. I know the situation is very difficult for Canada and for Europe, but please, the way out is not to run into Beijing's arms. Don't sell the CCP the rope with which it will hang you.
Angus: Canada is reconsidering that relationship with China. Why? Because we can no longer trust the US.
And we know that we have 150, maybe more, Canadians in custody at ICE detention centers. We had two Canadians under Chinese custody and it caused a huge outcry. We now have over 150 in the US.
And we know that we have 150, maybe more, Canadians in custody at ICE detention centers. We had two Canadians under Chinese custody and it caused a huge outcry. We now have over 150 in the US.
October 24, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Sigh. I know the situation is very difficult for Canada and for Europe, but please, the way out is not to run into Beijing's arms. Don't sell the CCP the rope with which it will hang you.
Sure, Chinese tech looks impressive these days, but from what I know, many people in China who are supposedly part of this “great rejuvenation” don’t actually feel they’re living happy or fulfilling lives. What’s there to envy?
The new admiration for China highlights both how little Americans understand about the country and how disillusioned many have become with their own. My latest www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...
Silicon Valley Has China Envy, and That Reveals a Lot About America
www.nytimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Sure, Chinese tech looks impressive these days, but from what I know, many people in China who are supposedly part of this “great rejuvenation” don’t actually feel they’re living happy or fulfilling lives. What’s there to envy?
A reminder to anyone who thinks this madness will burn itself out just because it's too crazy to last. The Great Leap Forward went on for 3 years and killed roughly 40 million people. The Cultural Revolution raged for a full decade. Insanity can go on and on if people don't stand up and stop it!
October 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
A reminder to anyone who thinks this madness will burn itself out just because it's too crazy to last. The Great Leap Forward went on for 3 years and killed roughly 40 million people. The Cultural Revolution raged for a full decade. Insanity can go on and on if people don't stand up and stop it!
The CCP will one day face justice for the absolute cruelty it inflicted on the country’s most courageous and justice-minded people. I hope that day comes soon.
Lawyer #XieYang has lost both parents during his detention of over 3 yrs & 9 months — his father died in Jan; now his mother has passed away without seeing her son again.
His family calls this loss "beyond words"—a life regret that can never be made right.
Via wqw2010.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog...
His family calls this loss "beyond words"—a life regret that can never be made right.
Via wqw2010.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog...
October 21, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The CCP will one day face justice for the absolute cruelty it inflicted on the country’s most courageous and justice-minded people. I hope that day comes soon.
I keep encountering rank-and-file US government employees who decline the tiniest "gift," citing ethics rules, while the US president and other top leaders engage in corruption on an astronomical scale. Sooner or later, the American people will have had enough.
I buy my own coffee, even though the Gift Ban allows me to accept someone buying me a coffee.
Do you have any extremely niche, but serious, ethical stances?
October 21, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I keep encountering rank-and-file US government employees who decline the tiniest "gift," citing ethics rules, while the US president and other top leaders engage in corruption on an astronomical scale. Sooner or later, the American people will have had enough.
Sanae Takaichi has been formally elected as Japan's first female Prime Minister. Whatever one thinks of her politics, those of us who grew up in East Asia’s patriarchal societies should take a moment to celebrate this breakthrough.
October 21, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Sanae Takaichi has been formally elected as Japan's first female Prime Minister. Whatever one thinks of her politics, those of us who grew up in East Asia’s patriarchal societies should take a moment to celebrate this breakthrough.
Some grim statistics. The stupidest thing America can do -- and is doing -- is to drive Chinese talent back into the arms of the CCP. Yes, Chinese espionage is a serious problem that must be addressed, but throwing the baby out with the bathwater is even worse. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Crackdown on Chinese Students Ignores a Startling New Reality
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Some grim statistics. The stupidest thing America can do -- and is doing -- is to drive Chinese talent back into the arms of the CCP. Yes, Chinese espionage is a serious problem that must be addressed, but throwing the baby out with the bathwater is even worse. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/o...
Columbia accepted 15 million from Li Lu, Tiananmen student leader turned investor. Yet the university refused to display a bust of Liu Xiaobo—the Nobel Peace laureate, a Tiananmen leader who was also at Columbia at the time. It's clear what Columbia values more. www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive...
A Transformative Gift for a Transformative Project: $15 Million From Li Lu ’96 Supports Law Library Renovation
In recognition of his extraordinarily generous gift—no individual has made a larger single gift in the Law School’s history—the new space will bear Li Lu’s name.
www.law.columbia.edu
October 20, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Columbia accepted 15 million from Li Lu, Tiananmen student leader turned investor. Yet the university refused to display a bust of Liu Xiaobo—the Nobel Peace laureate, a Tiananmen leader who was also at Columbia at the time. It's clear what Columbia values more. www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive...
Thank you to whoever is holding this sign on the Upper West Side of New York. Yes, we make America great by bringing you delicious food, rich cultures, deep expertise, and so much more! And thank you for welcoming us to stay, whether for a while or forever!
October 18, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Thank you to whoever is holding this sign on the Upper West Side of New York. Yes, we make America great by bringing you delicious food, rich cultures, deep expertise, and so much more! And thank you for welcoming us to stay, whether for a while or forever!
The convergence of pro-CCP operatives with the corrupt wing of American politics is astonishing. The competition is no longer US VS China, but the crooked VS the principled. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/n...
As Trump’s Justice Dept. Pursues His Enemies, an Ally Goes on Trial
www.nytimes.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:15 PM
The convergence of pro-CCP operatives with the corrupt wing of American politics is astonishing. The competition is no longer US VS China, but the crooked VS the principled. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/n...
In which I commented on the unfortunate convergence between the US and Chinese info environments: high-quality information is increasingly becoming a luxury consumed by the educated and well-resourced, while the rest of us are left to swim in the same trash. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘Americans are democracy’s equivalent of second-generation wealth’: a Chinese journalist on the US under Trump
The long read: Once a stalwart of Hong Kong’s journalism scene, Wang Jian has found a new audience on YouTube, dissecting global politics and US-China relations since the pandemic. To his fans, he’s p...
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:11 PM
In which I commented on the unfortunate convergence between the US and Chinese info environments: high-quality information is increasingly becoming a luxury consumed by the educated and well-resourced, while the rest of us are left to swim in the same trash. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
The leader of a prominent independent Christian church in China have been detained. Amid the headlines about AI, clean energy, and other “impressive” things attributed to the CCP, events like this should serve as a reminder of the Party’s true nature. apnews.com/article/chin...
Zion Church pastor has been detained in China, his daughter and a religion monitoring group say
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri of the Zion Church has been detained in China, according to his daughter and a monitoring group.
apnews.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:18 AM
The leader of a prominent independent Christian church in China have been detained. Amid the headlines about AI, clean energy, and other “impressive” things attributed to the CCP, events like this should serve as a reminder of the Party’s true nature. apnews.com/article/chin...
I told someone in China who doesn't usually follow politics that this is happening in America. She was like, "What? Can't be!" The cruelty of this stuff is so beyond the pale that even the Chinese - who are accustomed to government unaccountability and abuses - are in disbelief.
Northwest Chicago Suburb: ICE Agents Rip 15-Year-Old Girl from Car, Slam Her to Ground She Screams “I’m 15!” as Man Kneels on Her Neck
October 12, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I told someone in China who doesn't usually follow politics that this is happening in America. She was like, "What? Can't be!" The cruelty of this stuff is so beyond the pale that even the Chinese - who are accustomed to government unaccountability and abuses - are in disbelief.
China has never experienced democracy, American democracy is being shaken from within, and Europe’s democracies have long suffered from complacency and stagnation. We can all draw inspiration from Machado’s win—and be reminded that the struggle for democracy is both universal and unending.
BREAKING: For her work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, María Corina Machado wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
María Corina Machado of Venezuela wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Opposition activist María Corina Machado of Venezuela has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel committee praised her as a key figure in unifying Venezuela's political opposition.
bit.ly
October 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
China has never experienced democracy, American democracy is being shaken from within, and Europe’s democracies have long suffered from complacency and stagnation. We can all draw inspiration from Machado’s win—and be reminded that the struggle for democracy is both universal and unending.
The Trump administration’s betrayal of those who believed in America’s commitment to freedom—and in its power to protect those who fight for it—has been profoundly shocking and painful. The US must correct course before the damage becomes irreversible. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/08/t...
Trump Is Supporting Transnational Repression
Instead of sheltering pro-democracy dissidents, America is now returning them for arrest.
foreignpolicy.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
The Trump administration’s betrayal of those who believed in America’s commitment to freedom—and in its power to protect those who fight for it—has been profoundly shocking and painful. The US must correct course before the damage becomes irreversible. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/08/t...
The CCP can certainly prevent people from expressing hopelessness and advocating for the "lying flat" approach to life, but it cannot control people’s inner despair—or their decision to disengage from a system that offers them little hope. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/w...
China Punishes ‘Excessively Pessimistic’ Social Media Users
www.nytimes.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:14 PM
The CCP can certainly prevent people from expressing hopelessness and advocating for the "lying flat" approach to life, but it cannot control people’s inner despair—or their decision to disengage from a system that offers them little hope. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/w...
Totally understand but I can’t help but feel disappointed. What will save American democracy is not elites’ smarts but your courage. SPEAK ON THE RECORD, folks. Yes, you have a lot to lose, but you also have a lot. You will be fine. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...
October 6, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Totally understand but I can’t help but feel disappointed. What will save American democracy is not elites’ smarts but your courage. SPEAK ON THE RECORD, folks. Yes, you have a lot to lose, but you also have a lot. You will be fine. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...