Several individuals in China have been detained due to censorship during the COVID-19 pandemic, a violation of freedom of expression that worsened during the pandemic. The Chinese government has consistently restricted freedom of expression through strict media controls, including monitoring systems, firewalls, and shuttering publications. Dissident journalists, bloggers, and activists have been jailed for posting anti-government messages online. Qi Yanchen, the founder of the China Development Union, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2000 for posting articles and parts of his book, The Collapse of China, online. As Shanghai enters its seventh week of COVID-19 lockdowns, censors are working to contain public outrage and enforce the leadership’s prohibition of public debate.