One afternoon in October 2024, Li Ying was lying in bed, scrolling through X, when he got a notification on his phone from the peephole security camera on his apartment door in Turin, Italy.
Two men were lingering in the hallway.
He got up quietly, went to the door and watched them through the camera feed on his phone.
For two years, ever since he turned his X account into one of the most influential Chinese-language sources for uncensored news and dissent, Mr. Li had received threats of physical harm. Should those threats ever come to pass, he imagined summoning the courage to livestream his capture, possibly even his own death.
When one of the men reached into his pocket, Mr. Li froze. He forgot to livestream.
The man pulled out a can of spray paint and scrawled the word “stupro,” Italian for rape. Then both men left.
Mr. Li’s worst fears had not come to pass. He called the police. Four officers came, and they took his statement and his security camera footage. A friend drove from Milan to collect him and his two cats. By morning the apartment was empty.
After that moment, Mr. Li, who is known as “Teacher Li” to his followers on social media, decided that his life should not be dictated by fear. Rather than back down, he expanded his activities — traveling, attending human rights conferences and meeting diplomats, journalists, activists and politicians across Europe, Asia and North America.
