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Going live or going dark: why China is cracking down on live-streamers
Live-streaming is big business in China, with millions of broadcasts happening daily, featuring everything from shopping deals to dating advice. This digital gold rush has lifted many out of poverty and made others wealthy, but it comes with risks. In a country where censorship is pervasive, streamers must toe the line on socialist values—or face being shut down.
Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher and “Drum Tower” producer, hosts this episode with Ted Plafker, our China correspondent in Beijing. Together they ask: what’s life like inside this dynamic but precarious world, and what does the increasing censorship of live-streamers for flaunting wealth say about China today?
Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.
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Climbers (part one): A way out of China
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45:52|In 2022, a China Eastern Boeing 737 hit the ground in a near-vertical nosedive, killing 132 people. Two years later, there has been no official explanation for the tragedy, and the crash site in Guangxi remains unmarked. It is as if the disaster has been hidden in a memory hole.David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, ask: how does Xi Jinping’s China make even large events vanish from public discourse?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Panda propaganda: China’s summer camps for Taiwanese youth
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