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

Monday, 15 June 2026, 5pm to 6.30pm

In The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, writer Yi-Ling Liu tells the story of the Chinese internet, and what it reveals of the intricate dance between freedom and control in contemporary China. This story begins in the late 1990s, as Chinese authorities began constructing the 'Great Firewall' that would censor and surveil unwanted content online. Yet behind the wall, China's online space evolved into a world with new subcultures, communities and innovations, offering citizens previously unimaginable connection and opportunity.

In this talk, Yi-Ling will talk about this transformational chapter of China’s modern history, and the individuals who shaped it, from its entrepreneurs to artists to activists. She will also discuss what the rest of the world can learn from them about what it means to live with dignity and hope within the technological systems that now shape all our lives.

Yi-Ling Liu is a writer and editor covering Chinese society and technology. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Harper's, and WIRED, and she is the author of The Wall Dancers. Liu was the China Editor at Rest of World and a recipient of the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award. She is currently based in London as a journalist-in-residence at the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism.

Speaker(s): Yi-Ling Liu

Series: Baillie Gifford Distinguished Speaker Series

Venue: Dickson Poon Building, Oxford China Centre - Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre (lower ground floor) - Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre (lower ground floor) Dickson Poon Building Canterbury Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 6LU United Kingdom

Department: Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Department)

Organiser: Professor Todd Hall

Host: Professor Todd Hall