The Hidden Life: A Wife’s Journey into State Oppression and Online Dissent in China

Bei Zhenying never suspected her husband Ruan Xiaohuan of any subversive activities against the Chinese government. He was a brilliant computer programmer they met during their university days in Shanghai, and she was enamored with his curiosity and wit. His quirks, such as avoiding social media and new clothes, and his intense privacy, spending hours in his study on undisclosed work, seemed typical of a dedicated tech enthusiast.

At 45, Bei Zhenying believed these eccentricities were part of being a career geek, a world she, as a business manager, couldn’t fully comprehend. But her understanding shattered when Shanghai police stormed into their apartment and arrested him. Authorities accused Ruan Xiaohuan of writing articles that criticized China’s political system and plotting to overthrow the government. In February, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Over the following months, Bei Zhenying discovered more than just personal secrets. Ruan Xiaohuan was revealed as the enigmatic blogger “Program think,” known for satirizing the ruling Communist Party on China’s heavily controlled internet. His blog had attained near-mythical status among followers, sharing posts anonymously critical of government leaders’ hidden wealth and encouraging independent thinking.

Despite efforts to maintain anonymity, Ruan Xiaohuan’s fate intertwined with “Program think,” highlighting the severe measures taken against dissent under Xi Jinping’s leadership. Bei Zhenying, initially disinterested in politics, found herself thrust into a journey of awakening, navigating a landscape of state censorship and secrecy to understand her husband’s hidden life and the realities of dissent in China.