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It’s Quieter Now. People Are Afraid.

4 28
08.02.2026

OpinionGuest Essay

Credit...

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By Rong Xiaoqing

Visuals by Andrés Altamirano

Ms. Xiaoqing is a journalist. Mr. Altamirano is a visual artist.

I first noticed it in late autumn in front of the Queens Public Library in Flushing, where Chinese immigrants gather to socialize, peddle homemade snacks and cheap sneakers, and protest the political system in China.

When I stood on the library steps, I could still hear the horns of passing cars, the coos of pigeons........

© The New York Times