ABOUT US
An independent group supporting the right to information in People’s Republic of China
Circle 19 for the right to information in People’s Republic of China is an independent global China-concerned group that aims to promote the right to information on the basis of Chinese intellectuals sources.
The group’s name, Circle 19, refers to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that enshrines the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Circle 19 was gradually formed from 2019 and now gathers around thirty participants, whose details are not public, and some of whose remain anonymous for security reasons. The group is supported by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Journalistic investigations that changed China
2020: How did we lose the golden opportunity to control the disease?
The cover story of China News Weekly put together a detailed timeline for the month leading up to 23 January 2020, the day that the city of Wuhan closed down. The story presented the local government’s response and what officials from the local and national Center for Disease Control and Prevention did in those critical…
2023: “White Paper protests” — How extreme Covid-19 measures led Chinese youth to the streets
This story is about a group of friends in China experiencing the stringent lockdowns and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The oppressive measures, including enforced citywide quarantines and mass testing, have led to feelings of frustration and despair, provoking the white paper revolution. Central to the narrative are personal stories of friends Yan Liu, a…
2020: How a Wuhan doctor brought China to realise the seriousness of the Covid-19 epidemic
This story by Renwu Magazine sets out how Ai Fen became the first whistleblower. Ai Fen is a doctor at the Central Hospital of Wuhan. In December 2019, she was one of the first doctors to encounter patients infected with the virus that would become known as COVID-19. On 30 December, she received a diagnostic…
2016: A vaccine scandal that shook China’s health system
While on probation, Pang conspired with her daughter to trade 260,000 of non-refrigerated vaccines to 18 provinces, and made 570 million RMB (75 million EUR) from the trade. The vaccines were feared ineffective due to the improper transport and storage, though unlikely to cause toxic reactions.
2011: Corrupt official exposed following railway disaster
In 2011, on the heels of a train crash that killed 40 people and stoked the public’s ire, Caixin revealed large-scale corruption in the building of the country’s high-speed rail system. The long story exposed the “broken system” in the Railways Ministry and in a subsequent issue, put the railways minister Zhang Shuguang on its…
2011: The “Wukan protests” — how a little village stood up to corrupt officials
The article is covering the protests that first broke out in Wukan, a village in China’s Guangdong province. In 2011, this was the most detailed article covering the protests at the time. The protests were sparked by local officials’ illegal sale of collectively-owned village land, leading to widespread anger among the villagers.
2020: The report that shed light on Chinese delivery drivers’ appalling working conditions
Since there are no trade unions, Chinese delivery workers cannot fight against the time allotted by the platform’s algorithms, and have to resort to dangerous practices to ensure on-time delivery, which causes traffic accidents, some fatal.
2017：How China Youth Daily exposed a massive mortgage scam that targeted China’s elderly
A fraud scheme tricked dozens of elderly out of their housing in Beijing from 2015 to 2017.