Shanghaiist’s top 10 things that got censored in 2017

Chinese censors were really working overtime this year

10) Rela, China’s leading lesbian app with over 5 million registered users, gets shut down

The app’s deletion may have come because of Rela’s participation in an awareness event where a group of mothers of LGBT children gatecrashed Shanghai’s marriage market.

9) Pinterest becomes the latest social media site to get blocked by China

How are Chinese netizens supposed to find unique ideas for wedding dresses and coffee mug cozies now?

8) China censors internet discussion about downfall of former top internet censor

What goes around comes around?

7) Cambridge University Press bows to Chinese censors, removes 300 ‘politically sensitive’ articles

The world’s oldest publishing house reversed its decision a short time later after receiving widespread backlash from academics who accused the CUP of helping the Communist Party to “whitewash” Chinese history.

6) Michael Fassbender’s gay kiss removed from ‘Alien: Covenant’ by Chinese censors

Apparently, hot Fassbender-on-Fassbender action is not allowed in China.

5) Chinese streaming app Kuaishou forced to pull videos of pregnant teens showing off their bellies

Many netizens called for the government to crack down on Kuaishou, which provides a window into the cruel realities of life in rural China.

4) China censors online chatter about its World Internet Conference on ‘openness’

Censors were told to look out for keywords like “World 404 Conference” and “World Satire Conference” during the annual conference in Wuzhen this year.

3) The Net Nanny appears to be messing around with WhatsApp

In the lead-up to the 19th Party Congress, Chinese censors blocked WhatsApp time and again while also imposing some new restrictions on WeChat users and tightening control of chat groups.

2) Apple bows to will of Chinese censors, removes foreign VPN apps from China App Store

This year, Apple has shown a newfound willingness to kowtow to pressure from Chinese authorities, removing VPNs, Skype, and The New York Times from its China app store as its market share continues to slip.

1) Winnie the Pooh gets banned from Chinese social media for looking too much like Xi Jinping

Fortunately, relations between Beijing and the Hundreds Acre Forest appear to have now returned to normal.