Social Stability

A paid seminar led by former Tsinghua University associate professor Zheng Yuhuang in Beijing was reportedly interrupted by police after someone allegedly reported it as an “illegal gathering,” apparently objecting to the event’s pessimistic assessment of China’s economy, according to Hong Kong media.

Zheng, a former associate professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management who has since become an online influencer, hosted a two-day “Harvard Business School Case Analysis Camp” at a hotel near Beijing Capital International Airport on June 27–28.

On the first day, former Tsinghua sociology professor Sun Liping delivered a lecture on macroeconomic trends. According to attendees, Sun described China as being in a “recessionary period,” while the United States and Europe were “overheating” economically and Japan and South Korea were “recovering.”

During Zheng’s session on future economic trends on the second day, two police officers reportedly entered the venue and asked him to step outside for questioning. Participants said Zheng characterized China’s economic outlook as “pessimistic at the macro level, optimistic at the micro level,” predicting that the current environment could persist for another 20 to 30 years and drawing comparisons with Japan’s prolonged economic stagnation.

Zheng later wrote on social media that the event had been reported as a suspected “illegal gathering.” After he explained the nature of the seminar, the officers left within about five minutes, allowing the session to resume. He added that public visibility often attracts controversy and criticism.

Zheng left Tsinghua University about two years ago to establish the CMSI Institute of Scientific Marketing. The organization charges an annual membership fee of 999 yuan (approximately US$147), which includes one in-person lecture each year. The June seminar attracted around 500 attendees, while the separately ticketed “Harvard Business School Case Analysis Camp” that reportedly prompted the complaint cost 9,800 yuan (approximately US$1,444) per participant.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 2, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202607020038.aspx

A former surgeon at Urumqi Railway Central Hospital has alleged that unusually high cancer rates in Xinjiang may be linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) nuclear testing program. According to the account, while serving in the hospital’s oncology surgery department, the physician observed that ethnic minority patients occupied a disproportionately large share of oncology beds: 10 beds for 5,000 Xinjiang’s minority ethnicities vs. 30 beds for 154,000 han ethnicities.

The physician claims a review identified leukemia, lung cancer, and lymphoma as the three most prevalent malignancies among the hospital’s oncology patients, noting that all three have been associated in scientific literature with exposure to ionizing radiation. The account further alleges that a previous cancer survey of railway employees and their families found cancer incidence in Xinjiang to be approximately 35 percent higher than in other parts of China, although the survey’s findings were reportedly never released publicly.

The account also contends that official statistics significantly underestimate Xinjiang’s cancer burden because many rural residents and herders lack access to specialized oncology care. As additional supporting evidence, the physician contrasts the capacity of Xinjiang’s provincial cancer hospital—approximately 2,000 beds serving a population of 20 million—with that of Henan Province’s cancer hospital, which had only 800 beds despite serving a population of roughly 100 million.

Source: Aboluo, June 22, 2026
https://www.aboluowang.com/2026/0622/2398848.html

France’s Le Monde reported on a violent attack that occurred in late March in Beijing’s Fangshan district — an incident that has been entirely erased from Chinese public discourse.

On March 29, a large yellow construction vehicle plowed into stalls at the Dahan Ji agricultural market, roughly an hour’s drive from central Beijing, crushing everything in its path until several men climbed into the cab and pulled the driver out. Footage shared on overseas platforms blocked in China, such as X, showed at least five bodies lying amid the chaos. The market, once bustling on weekends, has remained closed ever since. Local residents are barely willing to speak about it, with one saying in a hushed voice, “Something did happen, but we can’t talk about it.” The identity of the attacker and their motive remain unknown to the public.

Le Monde argues this total information blackout marks a new phase in Chinese censorship. In the past, authorities would at minimum issue brief official notices following similar incidents. After a knife attack at a Shanghai supermarket on September 30, 2024, for instance, state media Xinhua reported three deaths and fifteen injuries and disclosed basic details about the suspect.

Random attacks targeting strangers have become a recurring source of public anxiety in China, often described as acts of “taking revenge on society.” Experts cited by Le Monde say these incidents reflect deeper structural issues — economic pressure, social inequality, limited channels for upward mobility, and few outlets for public expression. Some attacks, they note, carry a performative quality, directed not at specific individuals but at society at large.

China’s official media frequently highlights low urban crime rates as evidence of the Communist Party’s effective governance, while pointing to gun violence and disorder in the United States as a contrasting example. The complete suppression of this incident — where even searching the market’s name online yields only pre-attack results — suggests authorities are now willing to make events disappear entirely rather than acknowledge them in any form.

Source: Radio France International, May 2, 2026
https://rfi.my/CfFX

Recent data circulating on social media has reignited debate over the scale of China’s urban surveillance network. According to figures compiled by the X account @cuichenghao, Shanghai leads with approximately 15.06 million cameras, followed by Beijing with 11.16 million, Chongqing with 8.98 million, and Guangzhou with 7.35 million. The top ten cities combined account for nearly 80 million cameras, with national estimates placing China’s total surveillance camera count at over 700 million.

The camera-to-resident ratios in these cities are striking. Shanghai has roughly one camera for every 1.6 residents, Beijing one for every two, Guangzhou one for every 2.5, and Chongqing one for every 3.5. Residents interviewed described surveillance as a constant presence in daily life. A man surnamed Zheng in Shanghai, identified by authorities as a “key monitored individual,” said three or four cameras from different agencies — municipal police, district police, and local community management — are trained on his home, and that his movements are tracked the moment he steps outside without any need to report his whereabouts in advance.

A resident from Taixing, Jiangsu named Lu Jianrong said cameras are used primarily for two purposes: generating fines and maintaining social stability. He noted that people designated as “key personnel” can have multiple cameras installed directly outside their doors.

China’s surveillance infrastructure is built on two primary frameworks: the urban “Skynet” system, which connects cameras in roads and public spaces to public security bureaus, and the rural “Sharp Eyes” program, which extends the network into villages. A Beijing-based scholar told reporters that together, these systems have left almost no geographic blind spots across the country.

Despite the system’s vast reach, some residents say it offers little practical help. A man from Tengzhou, Shandong noted that cameras often fail to resolve everyday incidents like vehicle damage or theft — or even missing children.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 8, 2026
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shehui/2026/04/08/china-cctv-surveillance-internet-stability-maintenance/