NYC-Based Dissident Li Ying Confronts Global Intimidation—and Refuses to Stay Silent

On a humid Monday morning in Manhattan, Li Ying, better known online as Teacher Li, prepared his latest post for an audience that now tops 2.2 million on X. Despite living thousands of miles from China, Li has become a lightning rod for both support and hostility. Last week, his apartment building in Queens was defaced by unknown vandals, an act he attributes to transnational repression aimed at silencing his advocacy work.

Li, a former teacher, has built a digital community from his New York base, amplifying the voices of Chinese dissidents and exposing stories that rarely surface in mainland media. That visibility comes at a cost. In recent weeks, Li has faced coordinated smear campaigns and a surge of death threats, much of it orchestrated online but with very real implications for his safety in the city.

The NYPD confirmed it is investigating the vandalism as a possible hate crime. Meanwhile, local advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists have rallied in support of Li, highlighting the growing phenomenon of transnational repression targeting activists in New York and other global cities.

Li’s resilience underscores a broader tension in the city’s immigrant communities. As New York cements its reputation as a haven for international voices, it also finds itself on the front lines of geopolitical conflicts that play out on social media and city streets alike. For Li, the harassment has only deepened his resolve to keep publishing, telling NYC Business Pulse, “I won’t let threats decide what stories I share.”

His experience is now sparking conversations among local leaders and digital rights advocates about the need for stronger protections for residents targeted by foreign governments—even when their activism takes place far from home.