S9 Ep. 18: Yi-Ling Liu on Internet Censorship in China and the U.S.

Writer and editor Yi-Ling Liu joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to talk about state-controlled censorship. Liu, the author of a new book, The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, explores what it means to build community through the internet while contending with surveillance and suppression. Liu, Terrell, and McCauley discuss the sale of TikTok to U.S. companies, the growing online surveillance and censorship in the United States, and how American citizens can learn from Chinese “netizens” about how to survive under censorship. Liu tells the stories of four people– a renowned feminist, a gay dating app entrepreneur, an aspiring rapper, and a famous science fiction writer—who all found ways to dance around The Great Firewall and earn success for themselves and for their communities online. Liu details the widespread impact of each of these “wall dancers” and reflects on the inspirations that led them to foster social change through online media. Liu explores the importance of cultural exchange and connection online and considers her own personal experience with living and creating under censorship. Liu reads from The Wall Dancers.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This podcast is produced by Jennifer Maritza McCauley, V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.

Yi-Ling Liu

• The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet

Others

• “The Little Man at Chehaw Station” Ralph Ellison
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan, trans. by Ken Liu
• The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, trans. by Ken Liu
• Sale of TikTok to U.S. Companies | Politico
• TikTok Censorship Investigation | Los Angeles Times
• Sale of NVIDIA Chips to China | Associated Press
• The Great Firewall
• Lü Pin on Feminist Voices
• The Feminist Five
• The Mitu Movement in China

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