
Climbing the Great Firewall: Freedom, Censorship, and China’s Internet
From Face-Off: The U.S. vs China by Airwave Media
April 7, 2026 · 45 min · Season 3 · Episode 12
About this episode
The episode explores the complexities of living under China's internet censorship through a conversation with journalist Yi-Ling Liu.
In this episode, we take you inside the Chinese internet. China is currently home to the world's most sophisticated, far-reaching internet censorship regime. Chinese censors are trained to comb the web for off-limits words and phrases. Offending posts often disappear into thin air. And entire US-based platforms like Google, Youtube, Instagram, and Amazon, not to mention the New York Times are all banned. But it’s one thing to talk about the regime and another to live under it. That’s the subject of a great new book, The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet by Yi-Ling Liu. Yi-Ling is an American reporter based in Hong Kong. So today on Face-Off, we hand over the mic to our Associate Producer Frank Zhou for a fascinating conversation with Yi-Ling Liu. Guest: Yi-Ling Liu, Writer & Editor covering AI and Chinese society Further Reading: The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet https://www.yi-lingliu.com/the-wall-dancers ***PLEASE TAKE OUR AUDIENCE SURVEY*** It only takes a minute and will help guide the future of Face-Off: https://bit.ly/faceoffsurvey Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership…
People in this episode
Host: Frank Zhou
Guest: Yi-Ling Liu
Topics covered
- internet censorship
- China
- freedom of speech
- digital rights
- media
- journalism
Keywords
- China
- internet censorship
- freedom
- Yi-Ling Liu
- The Wall Dancers
- digital rights
- censorship
- journalism
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Face-Off: The U.S. vs China, Airwave Media, Rowhome Productions, Google, Youtube, Instagram, Amazon, New York Times
Books & works: The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet
Places: China, Hong Kong
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