Check out this journal article from The Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies (peer reviewed and open access) although published in 2020 it couldn't be more relevant today. Here is an opening sentence:
"In sum, the Chinese government’s censorial authority in recent times has resembled not so much a man-eating tiger or fire-snorting dragon as a giant anaconda coiled in an overhead chandelier. Normally the great snake doesn’t move. It doesn’t have to. It feels no need to be clear about its prohibitions. Its constant silent message is “You yourself decide,”