A new intellectual hub for Chinese émigrés in Washington

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The bookstore in the metro station beneath Shanghai’s city library seemed increasingly out of place in Xi Jinping’s China. Founded in 1997 by Yan Bofei, who researched philosophy, Jifeng Books was known for holding lectures on topics such as democracy and labour rights.

Its selection of works on the humanities and social sciences was far from the Communist Party’s recommended fare. The shop was purchased in 2012 by Yu Miao, who hoped to maintain it as a liberal forum. But in 2018 the government refused to renew its lease.

Officials made clear that they did not like the ideas that Jifeng was spreading. Now the shop has re-emerged—7,500 miles (12,000km) from its original location. JF Books, as it is called today, occupies a narrow storefront in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, DC.

One of the only Chinese-language bookstores in the city, it attracts a crowd that includes newly arrived students and older dissidents. Since its opening in September, the shop has hosted talks by prominent Chinese-Americans such as Minxin Pei, a political scientist, and Ha Jin, a poet and novelist. For Mr Yu, this new chapter began when he and his family moved to America in 2019.

The Chinese government, it seems, kept tabs on him. When his wife, Xie Fang, travelled back to China in 2022, she was banned from leaving. According to Mr Yu, the police demanded that he return to answer questions.

They suspected him of writing anonymous online critiques of the party. He did not budge and Ms Xie was allowed to depart nine months later. Knowing that he could not return to China, Mr Yu decided to reopen his shop in America.