And the fact that she was able to operate for years without issue

I used to watch ADVChina, which was a youtube series by an American and a South African who married Chinese women and decided to live in China with their families. For years they rode motorbikes around China, filming "day in the life" type content and occasionally saying something mildly critical.

Eventually the CCP decided they didn't like them and they had to flee the country. The way they told it they had to lie their way through the border to HK to get out because the government put an exit ban on them. Now they live in California post angry anti-CCP rants.

Point being, the fact that Wu or the ADVChina guys were able to operate in China for a little while isn't proof that the CCP tolerates independent media. It is proof that the CCP can be slow sometimes to shut down people who grow a foreign audience organically using information channels the CCP doesn't yet fully understand.

Thanks for displaying your ignorance. You obviously don't know her story, because she's never been openly critical of China. Rather, she's always tried to be an ambassador for China within her community. Unfortunately, some of her actions pissed off the wrong people.

https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/p/naomi-wu-and-the-silence-that-speaks-volumes