The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intensifying censorship efforts to suppress dissent, yet a growing spirit of defiance among Chinese citizens continues to resist party control, according to a report by Washington-based democracy watchdog Freedom House and its China Dissent Monitor (CDM) project. The findings, published on 29 September 2026, reveal that despite tightening media controls, public protests in China reached their highest recorded level in 2025.

Record Protests in 2025

According to the CDM, a total of 5,343 dissent events were recorded across China in 2025 — the highest annual figure since the project began tracking, representing a 44% rise over the previous year. Many of these protests were driven by economic grievances, including unfinished housing projects and unpaid wages, reflecting broader frustration with China's sluggish economic growth.

Notably, in June, peaceful demonstrations in Chongqing over an animal abuse case escalated into a large-scale protest lasting four days — an example, according to the report, of how government attempts to silence dissent can themselves trigger further mobilisation.

The 'Lying Flat' Phenomenon and CCP's Response

The concept of 'lying flat' — a term describing the rejection of societal pressures to pursue material success and contribute to national economic ambitions — has grown into a broader symbol of passive resistance. Chinese President Xi Jinping has publicly spoken against this attitude, and earlier this year China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) launched a campaign blaming 'foreign forces' for funding the spread of the 'lying flat' philosophy.

The campaign drew sarcasm from at least one popular Chinese vlogger, who reportedly joked about wanting to 'report' these foreign forces for failing to pay him despite his own efforts to 'lie flat.' The episode highlighted the gap between official propaganda and popular sentiment.

Censorship on Douyin and Social Media

The CCP's censorship apparatus has extended aggressively to social media. An analysis by CDM of nearly 3,000 posts on Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — about protests found that two-thirds had been deleted. The majority of removed posts reportedly covered protests likely involving government malfeasance, suggesting a targeted effort to suppress content that could embarrass authorities.

This comes amid a broader tightening of China's digital information environment, where platforms are required to comply with state directives on content moderation. Critics argue that such deletions do not eliminate discontent — they merely push it underground or into residential spaces, where disputes between homeowners and property management firms have also fuelled a surge in localised protests.

What Freedom House's Analysts Said

Kevin Slaten, writing in the Freedom House report, stated: 'Through media controls, the CCP attempts to restrict citizens' ability to grasp the extent of lying flat and public protests in China, but it fails to fundamentally alter the spirit of defiance that so many of the country's citizens possess.'

Slaten further called on international actors — particularly those with large public platforms — to amplify the voices of Chinese citizens acting in defiance of state attempts to silence them.

Broader Implications

The pattern documented by CDM suggests that economic stagnation and social frustration are outpacing the CCP's capacity to contain dissent through censorship alone. As China's growth outlook remains under pressure, analysts warn that the conditions fuelling 'lying flat' and public protests are structural rather than cyclical — and unlikely to dissipate through propaganda campaigns. The next phase of CCP censorship strategy, and how citizens respond to it, will be closely watched by human rights organisations and geopolitical observers alike.