Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher

Li Ying
李颖
Twitter profile picture of Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher
Born (1992-05-21) 21 May 1992
Fuyang, Anhui, China
Other nameTeacher Li
Occupations
  • Illustrator
  • activist
  • YouTuber
Years active2020–present
X information
Handle
Display nameTeacher Li Is Not Your Teacher
李老师不是你老师
Followers2.1 million
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers291 thousand
Views24.7 million
Last updated: 22 October 2025

Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher (Chinese: 李老师不是你老师; pinyin: Lǐ lǎoshī bùshì nǐ lǎoshī), also known by his username @whyyoutouzhele, is a Twitter account operated by Li Ying (Chinese: 李颖; pinyin: Lǐ Yǐng), a Chinese artist based in Italy. During the 2022 COVID-19 protests in China, the account was used to disseminate information regarding the protests, resulting in international attention due to the extensive censorship of the protests by Chinese authorities. The avatar of the account features a drawing of a tabby cat.[1]

Background

The owner of the Twitter account, Li Ying, was born in 1992 in Anhui.[2]

Li's grandfather was a doctor and officer in the National Revolutionary Army who fought in the Burma campaign during World War II. As a result of ties to the Nationalist movement, Li's grandfather was criticized as a "counter-revolutionary element" during the rule of China under Mao Zedong and as a result, his family moved to southern China to escape persecution. During the late period of the Cultural Revolution, Li's father was a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student who had attended university to become an art teacher.[3] Li's mother is also an art teacher.[4]

Li later recalled that his father's experience gave him a clear understanding of what it feels like to "stand on the wrong side of politics." During his early days, Li claimed that he was an ardent supporter of the Chinese Communist Party before his political views drastically changed after learning about experiences of human rights lawyers such as Pu Zhiqiang online. When he was 19 years old, he held his first exhibition called "Picasso at the Circus" in Jinan, Shandong, which according to him was "mocking an absurd society." He worked part-time as an art teacher and since 2015, he has been living and studying in Italy.[5][3]

According to MIT Technology Review, Li began paying attention to social issues in China in 2021 and used his account in Sina Weibo to post on-site information submissions from netizens. Due to extensive censorship efforts by Chinese authorities, 49 of his accounts in Weibo were banned. However, his supporters encouraged him and provided their phone numbers so that he could continue to register accounts. In April 2022, he transferred his main communication platform to Twitter.[6]

His handle is a reference to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian's comments in 2021 that foreign reporters should touzhele (simplified Chinese: 偷着乐; traditional Chinese: 偷著樂; pinyin: tōuzhelè; lit. 'have fun in secret') or "chuckle to themselves," for being able to live safely in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][3]

Covering the 2022 COVID-19 protests in China and aftermath

After protests erupted at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, Henan, in November 2022, Li's Twitter account became a medium for online information about the protests, as the account was responsible for receiving and disseminating on-site information. Since Twitter is banned in China, many users used virtual private networks (VPN) to access Twitter and send contributions to Li, who then spread the information, resulting in his gaining 600,000 followers within a week after the outbreak of the protests. The way Li sent and received information subsequently attracted international attention to what was regarded as the largest demonstration movement in China in a generation. As protests spread to other Chinese cities, the account became a primary source cited by international media on the protests and a key source of information for disseminating the situation of demonstrations in China.[8][3][6][9]

According to The New York Times and CNN, he has received more than a thousand pieces of first-hand information from China in a single day.[10][11] Li also admitted that due to his limited professional level, he could not be 100% sure of the authenticity of the information so he tried to test the authenticity by cross-comparing different videos of an incident. He urged his followers to double-check the details of their submissions before sending it to him, contributing to improvement of the quality of submissions. During this time, he barely had any hours to sleep due to him focusing in the sharing information of the protests online. According to The New York Times, the videos he spread attracted more Chinese people to pay attention to the protests.[12][13]

The Chinese government launched a severe psychological campaign against Teacher Li and his family, aiming to induce extreme mental stress, fear, and a sense of isolation.[14][15] Li's family in China is constantly surveilled and has been harassed by the local public security bureau because of his dissemination of sensitive content, according to Li. He said that he has received death threats and that an online test showed that he suffered from severe depression and physical and mental stress. Even so, on 4 December 2022, Li stated on Twitter that he would never commit suicide. He told CNN in an interview that the Twitter account "is more important than his life" and he would not end it. He also further stated that he has arranged someone to take control of his account if something were to happen to him.[16][3][17]

In addition to targeting family and friends, Chinese authorities also identify, target, and question mainland users who follow or interact with Teacher Li on X. According to reports, police departments in China have systematically reviewed his follower lists, contacted verified individuals, and in many cases ordered them to undergo forced questioning (喝茶, lit. drink tea) or to unfollow his account. Some followers have reported losing their jobs or receiving repeated police warnings.[18][19]

Subsequent events

With the end of the protests in December 2022, as of July 2023, Li continued to use the account to share submissions from his followers regarding social issues in China.[20]

In late 2024, Li launched a memecoin named after himself, which generated controversy among his followers, many of whom accused him of exploiting their trust.[21] Li stated that he hoped the coin, whose value fell by 80% shortly after its launch, would help people "unite to build something together".[21]

On March 5, 2026, Italian authorities issued deportation orders against eight Chinese nationals on national security grounds, citing concerns that China was using overseas "police stations" to monitor, harass and threaten Teacher Li.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ "How a Twitter Account With a Funny Cat Avatar Told the Tale of China's Protests Explained". News18. 11 December 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Kuo, Lily; Wu, Pei-Lin (10 December 2022). "The painter in Italy who informed the world about China's protests". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gan, Nectar; Xiong, Yong; Wang, Selina (11 December 2022). "How a Twitter account with a cat avatar took on Beijing". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Lewis, Leo (1 May 2026). "Chinese dissident Li Ying: 'Our work is about being ready for the tipping point'". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Pan, Jenny; Mistreanu, Simina (3 December 2022). "How a Chinese art teacher inspired a new generation of protesters". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  6. 1 2 Yang, Zeyi (2 December 2022). "How Twitter's "Teacher Li" became the central hub of China protest information". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "昔日戰狼被發配至邊疆「刷油漆」 趙立堅遭網酸 : 偷著樂" [The Former "Wolf Warrior" Is Exiled to the Frontier to "Paint Walls"—Zhao Lijian Mocked Online: "Secretly Delighted"]. Yahoo News. 13 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Hale, Erin (5 December 2022). "How one Chinese Twitter user exposed COVID protests to the world". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Pang, Jessie (14 December 2022). "How a painter in Italy became a crucial source of information during China's recent COVID protests". Reuters. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  10. ↑ Mozur, Paul; Xiao, Muyi; Liu, John (1 December 2022). "中国各地抗议浪潮让审查机器极限承压" [A Wave of Protests Across China Pushes the Censorship Machine to Its Limits]. The New York Times (in Simplified Chinese). ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  11. ↑ Wang, Nectar Gan, Yong Xiong, Selina (10 December 2022). "How a Twitter account with a cat avatar took on Beijing". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Mozur, Paul; Xiao, Muyi; Liu, John (30 November 2022). "'Breach of the Big Silence': Protests Stretch China's Censorship to Its Limits". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  13. ↑ Zhang, Han (6 December 2022). "The Twitter User Taking on the Chinese Government". The Nation. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Teacher Li: The hunt for the cartoon cat vexing China's censors". BBC News. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Mandarin, Wu Yang for RFA (29 January 2025). "Exiled citizen journalist Teacher Li still a target for Beijing". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "李老师：即使在意大利也受威胁" [Teacher Li: Under Threat Even in Italy]. Radio France Internationale (in Chinese). 14 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  17. ↑ Wang, Yun (30 November 2022). "INTERVIEW: 'I'm just reporting what's going on'". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  18. ↑ 美国之音 (26 February 2024). "中共长臂伸向海外批评言论，调查国际社媒平台中国关注者". 美国之音 (in Chinese). Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Nectar Gan, Yong Xiong (19 March 2024). "A dissident in Europe is enraging Beijing. Now Chinese police are coming for his social media followers | CNN". CNN. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  20. ↑ Jing, Wei (25 July 2023). "Xi'an police probe agencies amid angry protests by parents over exam 'immigrants'". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  21. 1 2 Hawkins, Amy (17 January 2025). "Chinese activist Teacher Li's memecoin launch divides dissident community". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Italy expelled eight Chinese nationals for spying on opponents and dissidents via China overseas 'police stations'". AsiaNews. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Italy expels 8 Chinese on national security grounds | Safeguard Defenders". safeguarddefenders.com. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
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