Face-Off: The U.S. vs China Climbing the Great Firewall: Freedom, Censorship, and China’s Internet
Apr 7, 2026
Yi-Ling Liu, writer and editor who covers AI and Chinese society and author of The Wall Dancers. She unpacks how China’s vast censorship apparatus shapes online creativity. Short scenes on content moderation, underground communities like Blued, feminist activism, platform-regulator dynamics, and how Chinese culture migrates onto U.S. feeds.
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Cop By Day Founder By Night Built The Biggest Gay App
- Ma Baoli lived a double life as a police officer by day and founder of gay community sites by night, using early internet novels as a lifeline.
- His site Benlan grew into Blued, which became the world's largest gay dating app with hundreds of employees.
Blued's Founder Pivoted To ECommerce After A Crackdown
- After Blued was taken private amid a tech crackdown, Ma signed a non-compete and pivoted to live-stream e-commerce with Xingqiu Yulan.
- The pivot reunited his old team and kept queer-leaning users while avoiding LGBT business restrictions.
Weibo Spring Fueled A New Wave Of Feminist Activism
- Weibo's early era became a fertile space for activism where feminist groups like Feminist Voices mobilized visible stunts.
- Yi-Ling Liu cites the Bloody Brides protest and the Weibo Spring as catalysts for online feminist organizing.
