Curious on whether these forums are moderated or monitored by Govt? And are there any online places where people can discuss without fear of the Chinese govt?
yes, all popular forums (Baidu, Weibo, Zhihu etc) are moderated.
But to be honest, I feel like you misunderstood of the whole "monitored by government" situation in china. It's true that we can't discuss about certain history event or some sensetive policy (people still do that using code language or whatever). But I assure you no one is having fear discussing it, as long as you are not deliberately spreading those negative things in a large scale.
Curious on whether these forums are moderated or monitored by Govt? And are there any online places where people can discuss without fear of the Chinese govt?