That's the thing, she seems to want the entire backstory of her history of harassment and discrimination to be omitted from a 6000 word profile on her life.

Even if I agreed with that the correct reaction would be to spike the story. Not just go ahead after you've been told over and over again that it is not an acceptable topic for the article. Basically this is a bunch of non-chinese journalists thoughtless applying their standards for what is and isn't dangerous to a chinese person living in china. And then refusing to engage with that person when they try to explain themselves via email. And frankly (assuming you aren't chinese) you just did the same. If journalists don't understand the conditions their subjects need to live in they should shut the fuck up and stay in their lane until they get the knowledge they need to report responsibly.