Exploring Strategies of Resistance at RightsCon
In late February, digital rights experts, activists, and stakeholders gathered in Taipei to participate in RightsCon, a global summit on “human rights in the digital age.” Human Rights in China (HRIC) was honored to participate in this key gathering of the human rights community, and to host a session on “Strategies of Resistance & Empowering Narratives of Hope.” The session brought together experts and activists from around the globe to discuss examples of successful activism strategies that overcame the barrier of the Great Firewall, and propose effective long-term approaches to empowering the digital rights activism from Chinese civil society.
The session opened with a statement from HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo, who asserted that “the most important battleground for human rights in China is online—in cyberspace.” Zhou highlighted several cases from the past several years that demonstrated the effectiveness of overseas activism in conjunction with domestic action within China, and how this “digital feedback loop” created an effective method for spreading a message and empowering individuals to defend their rights.
Speakers shared their personal experiences with human rights narratives online, both in activist spaces and the private tech sector. In addition to widespread challenges related to censorship, privacy, and safety, the participants highlighted a few key issues they had encountered within their own work, including the fact that online activist work is not always accessible to or inclusive of grassroots groups, particularly in China, and that recent geopolitical shifts have emboldened the tech sector to reject human rights norms and regulation. Still, the speakers were able to point to many examples of human rights work that successfully utilized cyberspace to create effective change. The discussion emphasized the need for coordinated and creative strategies, from diversifying social media platforms to effectively amplifying voices on the ground.
The Li Community team, composed of young Chinese dissidents, shared their experiences launching the "661Study.ICU" online project, intending to use data to expose the serious problem of overtime learning in the Chinese education system. Through effective online outreach, the team successfully collected data from about 15% of Chinese high schools. Subsequently, many local governments ordered schools not to resume classes too early during the winter vacation, and subsequently issued rules to shorten study time and restore the two-day weekend.
Movements such as “Study996.ICU” demonstrate a new role of digital platforms in social rights protection, but labor activist Rick warned that the digital divide limits the participation of marginalized groups.
Another speaker from independent media group Lady Liberty HK shared that Lady Liberty continues to promote Hong Kong’s human rights stories despite the limitations of the the National Security Law, particularly by raising funds to support independent journalists, artists, and creators through the “Liberty Art Prize” project.
A former tech industry professional warned that the technology industry lacks human rights protection and lacks a global governance framework, and China's technological influence continues to expand.
During the discussion, Australian Chinese artist Badiucao expressed concern about the decline in the influence of traditional platforms such as Twitter, specifically pointing to the rapid decline in views and impressions due to changes in platform algorithms. He encouraged attendees to “not put all our eggs in one basket” and to work with more online platforms.
More than 30 social activists participated in the closed-door meeting, and the discussion was heated. In the face of the possibility of a reduction in U.S. support for human rights, participants called for the establishment of an independent citizen network to maintain the free flow of information through multi-platform cooperation and continue to defend human rights and freedoms in a high-pressure environment.
Read Executive Director Zhou’s full statement below in English and Chinese.
As Executive Director of Human Rights in China and a longtime activist, I believe the most important battleground for human rights in China is online—in cyberspace. From facial recognition to generative AI, China has built one of the world’s most advanced censorship and surveillance systems, weaponizing cutting-edge technology to maintain control. Despite the CCP’s high-tech repression, resistance in cyberspace remains strong. People continue to find creative and courageous ways to bypass censorship, share information, and challenge authoritarian control. Their persistence ensures that the fight for freedom and truth lives on, inspiring hope for a future beyond oppression.
Before ChatGPT and other generative AI tools emerged, the most sophisticated AI applications were in facial recognition, an area where China led the way. The Chinese government integrated AI-powered facial recognition into its surveillance network, using it extensively in Xinjiang to track and control the Uyghur population. The first large-scale AI-driven censorship campaign came in 2017 when Liu Xiaobo’s image was systematically erased from Chinese cyberspace upon his death.
Today, the CCP is doubling down on AI-driven repression. The rapid rise of DeepSeek AI demonstrates its commitment to ensuring that China controls the tools of the future. The implications are alarming. Recently, OpenAI uncovered a Chinese AI-powered surveillance tool designed to monitor and flag anti-CCP posts on global social media. Meanwhile, DeepSeek became the most downloaded AI app made in China, attracting millions of users—extending the reach of CCP censorship, surveillance, and disinformation worldwide.
Yet even in the face of this growing digital repression, I am deeply inspired by those fighting back. The 2022 White Paper Movement showed the power of free cyberspace outside China to spark real-world resistance inside the country. Protesters forced the CCP to abandon its draconian zero-COVID policy by leveraging digital spaces beyond the Great Firewall. Young people and first-time activists used creative tactics—sharing information via AirDrop, embedding messages in video games, and feeding updates to influential accounts outside China, which then reflected this information back inside. This feedback loop proved that no amount of censorship can fully suppress the will of the people when they embrace their own power.
The CCP understands this threat. In response to viral organizing on WeChat, it imposed strict limits on group sizes to slow the spread of dissent. But recently a group of developers created VeryReal, an independent messaging app that allowed 10,000-person group chats and large-scale video calls—until the Chinese government shut it down for having “social mobilization capabilities.” Even so, the concept demonstrated how technology can be used to counter digital repression. VeryReal rapidly gained traction, gathering 1 million users in a short period—most of them from inside China—demonstrating the growing demand for uncensored digital spaces despite the CCP’s efforts to control online discourse.
Recent events further highlight the power of this digital feedback loop. Last month, protests erupted in Pucheng, Shaanxi, after the mysterious death of a 17-year-old student. Despite tight censorship, citizens flooded social media with posts, overwhelming the censors with sheer volume. Protesters, particularly older women, strategically used local dialects to evade AI-driven keyword detection. As a result, their message broke through—escaping China’s firewall, where it was then amplified back inside by external activists.
One key external activist in free cyberspace is Teacher Li, an independent Chinese journalist whose online platform has become a vital source of uncensored news. He recently exposed widespread school overtime abuses by giving students a safe space to report their cases, forcing local officials to change policies. His work demonstrates that millions of people in China still crave the truth and are willing to seek it out.
Last year, a collaborative June Fourth commemoration post from HRIC and Teacher Li reached three million views on a single tweet, and 10 million across a tweet cluster in just one day. These numbers reflect the continued power of international visibility in disrupting the CCP’s censorship machine. When people in China see that the outside world is watching and supporting them, they are emboldened to resist.
This is why we must continue innovating—developing new strategies, leveraging every available tool, and creating sustainable, effective resistance. Today, we will hear from some of the most creative and courageous activists I have had the privilege of working with. I hope this session leaves us all energized and committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the fight for human rights in China.
Thank you.
作为“中国人权”的执行主任和长期人权活动家，我认为中国最重要的人权战场就在线上——在网络空间。从人脸识别到生成式人工智能，中国已经建立了世界上最先进的审查和监控系统之一，将尖端技术武器化以维持控制。尽管中共进行高科技镇压，但ƒ网络空间的抵抗仍然强劲。人们继续寻找创造性和勇敢的方式来绕过审查，分享信息并挑战威权控制。他们的坚持确保了自由和真相的斗争继续存在，为超越压迫的未来带来希望。
在 ChatGPT 及其他生成式 AI 工具出现之前，最先进的 AI 应用领域是人脸识别，而中国正是这一领域的先驱。中国政府将 AI 驱动的人脸识别技术整合进监控网络，广泛用于新疆，以追踪和控制维吾尔族群。第一次大规模人工智能驱动的审查活动发生在2017年，当时刘晓波的形象在他去世后被系统性地从中国网络空间抹去。
如今，中共正在加速推进 AI 监控镇压。DeepSeek AI 的迅速崛起便表明了中国对未来技术控制权的坚定意图，其影响令人担忧。最近，OpenAI 发现了一款中国 AI 监控工具，该工具专门用于监测并标记全球社交媒体上的反中共言论。同时，DeepSeek 已成为中国最受欢迎的 AI 应用，吸引了数百万用户，使中共的审查、监控和信息操控能力扩展至全球。
然而，面对日益严峻的数字极权，我仍然被那些奋起反抗的人深深鼓舞。2022 年的“白纸运动”展现了自由网络空间在境外如何激发境内的现实抗争。抗议者借助防火长城之外的数字空间，迫使中共放弃严苛的清零政策。年轻人及首次参与行动的公民采用创新战术——通过 AirDrop 共享信息，在电子游戏中嵌入抗议讯息，并向境外有影响力的账号投递实时动态，再由这些账号回传信息至国内。这种信息回流的模式证明了：只要人们意识到自己的力量，无论审查如何严密，都无法彻底抹杀反抗的意志。
中共深知这一威胁。为了遏制微信上的病毒式动员，它对群聊规模设定了严格限制，以降低异见传播的速度。然而，近期，一群开发者创建了一款独立消息应用——VeryReal，该应用支持 10,000 人群聊及大规模视频通话，最终却因其“社会动员能力”而遭中国政府封禁。尽管如此，这一概念依然展现了技术如何被用来对抗数字极权。VeryRealAI 在短时间内便迅速吸引了 100 万用户，其中大多数来自中国本土，这清楚地表明，尽管中共竭力掌控网络话语，仍有大量人群渴望一个不受审查的数字空间。
近期事件更进一步凸显了这种数字回流的影响力。上个月，陕西蒲城爆发抗议，起因是一名 17 岁学生离奇身亡。尽管当局实施严密审查，市民们依然涌入社交媒体发布信息，以海量内容淹没审查机制。抗议者，尤其是年长女性，巧妙地利用方言规避 AI 关键词过滤，成功让信息突破封锁——最终逃出中国防火墙，并由境外人士回传至国内，进一步放大影响力。
自由网络空间中的关键行动者之一是“李老师”，他是一名独立中国记者，其在线平台已成为未受审查新闻的重要来源。近期，他揭露了学校强迫学生超时学习的现象，为受害者提供了举报渠道，并成功促使地方政府调整政策。他的工作表明，仍有数百万中国人渴望获取真相，并愿意为此而努力。
去年，“中国人权”与“李老师”联合发布的一条六四纪念推文，在单条推文上的浏览量达 300 万，全系列推文总浏览量更突破 1000 万。这些数字证明了国际关注如何能够冲击中共的审查体系。当中国人看到外界的关注与支持，他们的抗争意志也随之增强。
这就是为什么我们必须继续创新——开发新策略，利用一切可用工具，建立可持续且有效的反抗体系。今天，我们将听取一些我有幸与之共事的最具创造力和勇气的活动家的发言。我希望这场讨论能够让我们充满能量，坚定不移地推动中国人权事业的可能边界。
谢谢大家。