"You can delete my words, you can delete my name but you cannot snatch the pen from my hand. In the years to come this pen of mine will fight a long war of resistance, and continue to write for as long as it takes for me to see the light of a new dawn."

"Our sign said “People’s Commune” in Chinese, and our logo was Mao Zedong’s face, so maybe that caught their eye."

"Not only has Chinese authoritarian rule survived the internet, but the state has shown great skill in bending the technology to its own purposes, enabling it to exercise better control of its own society and setting an example for other repressive regimes."

"Looking back on these four years, I know I did things I shouldn’t have done, that I killed reports that I shouldn’t have killed, that I removed content I shouldn’t have removed. But in the end I had an awakening, preferring not to carry out my political mission, refusing to go against my conscience and to become a criminal of history."

"Movie regulators should respect the producers’ original ideas, rather than chopping scenes arbitrarily."

"The entire city’s propaganda team includes 60,000 people in the system and over two million outside of the system. We must strengthen the positive guidance of hot topics. Every single propaganda worker must successfully utilize new media. ‘Read Weibo, open a Weibo account, post to Weibo, and study Weibo’ to develop the Internet’s positive energy."

"Someone just delivered a strict order: at my book signing event, I’m not allowed to talk; the readers are not allowed to ask me any questions; I can’t even introduce myself or say ‘Happy New Year, thank you.’ I’m not even allowed to introduce the names of other guests at my event; they are not allowed to talk or answer any questions. They can only sit in the corner. I deeply feel it’s against my understanding of dignity. They are crazy."