China's Online Censorship Backfires, Fueling Public Doubt: Taiwan MAC

• Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) reports that China's extensive digital censorship system is showing signs of collapse and public pushback.
• The MAC's Quarterly Report suggests China's "digital authoritarian model" has reached a breaking point, caught in a loop of suppression and speculation.
• The suspicious death of actor Alan Yu, officially an "accidental fall," became a key example, with public doubt fueled by online rumors and swift censorship.
• Chinese authorities responded to the Yu incident by removing posts, deleting discussions, and fining major platforms for not monitoring trending topics.
• The MAC warns that aggressive censorship backfires, intensifying public curiosity and resentment, and that the system is overextended as citizens bypass controls.

Why It Matters: China's censorship system is backfiring, fueling public distrust and resistance.