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Since late 2010, Freedom House has been publishing the China Media Bulletin (CMB), a weekly digest of press freedom and censorship news related to the People’s Republic of China. The CMB has built up a substantial readership among scholars, journalists, diplomats, and government officials who specialize in China affairs. But the stories highlighted in the bulletin should be read by a wider audience, as its material is relevant to anyone who cares about freedom and the constantly evolving methods employed by freedom’s adversaries.

The reason is simple: China has emerged as the nerve center and leading exemplar of what might be called 21st-century authoritarianism.