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samuelwa.de
@samuelwa.de
Vancouver-based editor at @chinadigitaltimes.net, a Berkeley-based nonprofit publishing news and translation about human rights and censorship in China.

Knows changes aren't permanent, but change is. Will stand on the ocean until I start sinking.
Pinned
"Du Fu wrote 'The state broken, its mountains and rivers remain,' and 'Crimson gates reek with meat and ale, while on the streets are bones of the frozen dead.' Certain people would have called this 'negative energy.' But a thousand years on, it's positive energy that schoolchildren learn by heart."
Translation: Farewell to a Deleted WeChat Account, "Du Fu of Huanhua Creek"

"Pointing out society’s problems isn’t 'negative energy'—it comes from hoping society can improve. Today’s 'negative energy' is tomorrow’s positive energy."
Translation: Farewell to a Deleted WeChat Account, "Du Fu of Huanhua Creek"
Late last month, WeChat moderators’ axe fell on "Du Fu of Huanhua Creek," apparently prompted by a post questioning online comments about Sino-Japanese tensions. On their other account, "History Rhyme...
chinadigitaltimes.net
Reposted
I know people keep saying this but it’s hard to communicate the depth of active resistance here. Like, I’m on random cafes and people are checking in for observation shifts. Signs everywhere. Folks in visibility vests on the corners. It’s wild. Absolutely wild.
January 22, 2026 at 4:04 PM
被喝冰茶
This *really* should not need to be said, but apparently it does: You should be able to criticize the mayor online without police showing up at your door to question you.
Florida woman criticized Miami Beach's mayor on Facebook. Cops then showed up at her home
“Free speech died at my door,” Raquel Pacheco, a small business owner, told The Advocate.
www.advocate.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Tankies momentarily confused by involvement of a prosecutor called Ned.
January 22, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Reposted
Terrific column by @duncanrobinson.bsky.social:
Affluenza: the new British disease
What happens when a country is not quite as rich as it thinks?
www.economist.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:02 PM
For those musically inclined and seeking diversion:
Disquiet Junto Project 0734: Meet Cue

The Assignment: Write music for a scene from a favorite film.

Note: You don’t need to adhere to the style of the film’s original score.

Deadline: Monday, 1/26/26, 11:59pm (just before midnight) wherever you are.

Details: disquiet.com/0734

#DisquietJunto
January 22, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted
If you're on overload from everything else, here is a wholesome and satisfying activity -- nothing stops the Disquiet Junto.
A new #DisquietJunto music community project will appear at 12:10am Pacific tomorrow (January 22, 2026) at disquiet.com/0734, and go out at the same time to the email list (juntoletter.disquiet.com). The theme explores film scores. Join in.
January 22, 2026 at 2:02 PM
”China“ increasingly refers to two distinct things: a very large, complicated country, and an even larger, perfectly featureless blank rectangle onto which you can project anything at all.
if Daniel Bell were a Tiktok influencer
January 22, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Brother just did an *amazing* Alan Rickman impression, which would have been even more impressive if he wasn’t aiming for Dr Evil.
January 22, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Reposted
Hu Xiangdong, Cabbage/Dream Plant, 1998. www.mplus.org.hk/tc/collectio...
January 22, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Standards have really slipped since I left if “Mr Angry” is now considered disparaging.
Swayne blamed “hackers” in 2006 after leaked emails revealed his disparaging nicknames for fellow MPs, including “Mr Angry” and “mincehead.”

Conservative Lawmaker Blames ‘Hackers’ After His Account Shares Photo of a Shirtless Man: ‘Needless to Say I Was Disgusted
www.mediaite.com/politics/con...
Conservative Lawmaker Blames ‘Hackers’ After His Account Shares Photo of a Shirtless Man: ‘Needless to Say I Was Disgusted’
A conservative lawmaker from the U.K. blamed "hackers" on Wednesday after his account reposted a photo of a shirtless man with abs.
www.mediaite.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:59 PM
He should stop—stop!—in the name of love, before he breaks her heart.
January 22, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Reposted
It was funny and maybe a sign of the psychic damage that when the HK police started using China-made tear gas (don’t know whether they ran out or it was a cost thing) the tear gas connoisseurs were all ‘this tastes different, the old stuff was a bit better’
We experienced a whole bunch of these US and UK made weapons, during the 2019 protests here, in Hong Kong.
January 22, 2026 at 5:13 AM
What the hell is up with people on here today? I mean, further up than usual?
January 21, 2026 at 5:38 PM
They should be safe at this distance, I think?
January 21, 2026 at 12:42 PM
<extended sound of chisel tapping>
I think the Daily Mail is actually verging into sedition and subversion and treason.
January 21, 2026 at 12:30 PM
4,000? Must have been a busy morning.
Not sure why, but China is feeling the need to say that China is being attacked by Taiwan with cyber incidents rather than the other way around.

Mainland deals with almost 4,000 cyber attacks from Taiwan in 2025

english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/20...
english.scio.gov.cn
January 21, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Current mood:
Scott Walker - Funeral Tango
YouTube video by Jan
youtu.be
January 21, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Reposted
There should be a rule that if you are a Known Sports Poster you can say things like “holy fucking shit” with zero context but if you are primarily a Known Politics Poster that gets you like a two day ban
July 24, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Reposted
another fermi filter is when news media are just too polite
January 20, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Reposted
Far from me to doubt the SEO wizards at @wired.com for the title on the online version, but my heart still loves

Hot, Cheap, and Out of Control

My latest on the chaotic good green tech revolution

www.wired.com/story/china-...
China’s Renewable Energy Revolution Is a Huge Mess That Might Save the World
A global onslaught of cheap Chinese green power is upending everything in its path. No one is ready for its repercussions.
www.wired.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:01 PM
We should put “Welcome to Mexico” signs all along the border.
January 20, 2026 at 9:38 PM
January 20, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Honestly, I think we’ll get further with passive aggression if they do invade, but I’m new to this.
January 20, 2026 at 8:13 PM