China's Tianya Forum Returns, Authorities Urge Responsible Speech

Chinese authorities have praised the return of Tianya – which was one of the country’s most popular internet forums in the pre-algorithm, pre-short-video era – while cautioning that freedom of speech must be balanced with responsibility.

“Tianya’s return is by no means a simple revival but an evolution oriented towards the new era. In this era dominated by algorithms and fragmented information, echo chambers narrow people’s perspectives, and hurried fast-food content leaves no space for the soul to rest,” the company’s statement said, adding that it aimed to create an “open, diverse, inclusive and deep original content platform”.

The Tianya forum was once a “gathering place for intellectuals”, a commentary by the Zhejiang Provincial Communist Party Committee’s Publicity Department said on Tuesday.

People wrote novels, analysed historical events and exchanged views on China’s economy, and sometimes a discussion could last for years with many posters contributing to the conversation, it said.

“People felt nostalgic [for Tianya] because it had a lively atmosphere,” the commentary said.