Chinese netizens are extremely creative when it comes to dodging censors - they translated the article about Dr Ai Fen's whistleblowing in Wuhan into Sindarin & Klingon (see below) last year to make sure the article was able to spread...

Source: Weibo (Mar 2020) https://twitter.com/tingguowrites/status/1387006587986866182

Creative methods of dodging censors developed only because people *need to dodge censors* as part of their daily lives.

You've kind of seen HKers now start to adopt similar methods post NSL for the Forbidden Words, although it's 50/50 taking the piss.

Source: TG (Jul 20)

For those who want to read more on the 'martian language' Chinese netizens use to dodge censors and *why* an article needed to be passed around in Klingon and Sindarin, there's a great thread here: https://twitter.com/lotus_ruan/status/1237747929726816265?s=20

Someone even made a portrait of Dr Ai Fen with all the pictograms netizens used to evade censors to spread the story of her whistleblowing in Wuhan. The artist credited is 'Liu Bowen', a reference to a Ming poet who may have died from a cold, or poison.

Source: TG (Mar 20)

The point is, as @tingguowrites was saying, Chinese netizens have learnt to be creative about evading censors.

If you don't see some sensitive stuff discussed openly, it's not because no one is discussing it; it's just censored, and being talked about in other ways.

And if you *do* see it discussed 'in other ways' - like with Dr Ai Fen, or after Dr Li's death... it's mostly a sign a *lot* of people are rebelling and censors haven't caught up yet. Happens rarely, and often comes at a cost to those who dare. But that's not stopped the people!