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Dear John,

From Tehran to Beijing, authoritarians around the world do not want their citizens’ dissent to be seen. Each protest, each voice crying out for freedom, is a crack in their façade of control and competence.

That is why Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor (CDM) is so vital right now. CDM is the only public database that offers a comprehensive view of the extent and causes of protest in the world’s leading authoritarian state. Since its launch in 2022, the project has documented nearly 14,000 protest events in every region of China, capturing a variety of different economic, social, and political grievances. CDM has become a premier resource for journalists, policy analysts, and concerned citizens of all countries who seek to better understand the ripple effects that rising dissent in China could have around the globe. You may have seen CDM cited recently in Sky News, The Guardian, and The Economist, among others.

Unfortunately, CDM lost its long-term funding as part of last year’s US government cuts to foreign aid. The project is now in urgent need of support, and faces the prospect of permanent termination in the coming weeks. If CDM goes dark, the outside world’s knowledge of many protests in China would likely be lost to censorship, and even Chinese citizens could be left unaware of their compatriots’ efforts to secure their basic rights.

Your support will let such protesters know that they are not alone, and help demonstrate to the world that no country can be written off or consigned to endless tyranny. By amplifying voices of dissent, projects like CDM serve as a welcome reminder that the embers of freedom never stop burning, even in the most repressive places on earth.