A recent furore over the future of a popular independent bookstore has shone a fresh spotlight on concerns that the space for public debates and cultural events in China is shrinking.
The announcement that the You Xing Bookstore in Chengdu – a venue that had hosted a number of events featuring prominent Chinese and foreign speakers – would shut later this month followed the closure of a number of other bookshops as well as cancelled cultural events and film screenings across the…