HRIC Weekly Brief
December 31, 2024
Top News 头条
On December 28, numerous overseas human rights organizations and non-governmental groups launched a global joint campaign to "free Wang Bingzhang." The "Free Wang Bingzhang" committee, co-founded by Wang’s family and Zhou Fengsuo, Executive Director of Human Rights in China, was established to advocate for the release of one of China’s most courageous and unjustly silenced democracy advocates. It calls on the Chinese Communist Party to release Wang, who has been imprisoned for 22 years to date, while urging the governments of other states to increase pressure on China.
As HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo pointed out in an interview with Voice of America: Wang is an iconic figure in China's democracy movement who founded the magazine "China Spring" and established the first overseas democracy movement organization. Zhou emphasized that this campaign is not only aimed at promoting the release of Wang Bingzhang, but also hopes that Wang’s bravery will inspire more young people to participate in the democracy movement.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
After protests, China reverses course on law that hurt shareholders: Protests occurred in at least eleven Chinese cities since the implementation of the new Company Law in July, which has been interpreted to hold initial investors liable for company debts. Now, the Legislative Affairs Commission is pushing back on these interpretations.
NPC Calendar: January 2025: On January 1, several laws, including the revised Border Health and Quarantine Law, Decision on Gradually Raising the Statutory Retirement Ages, and revised Anti–Money Laundering Law will take effect. Meanwhile, several bills are open for public comment, including the draft Law on Publicity and Education on the Rule of Law.
Constitutional Social Rights vs. Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: On December 25, the NPC Standing Committee heard the annual report by its Legislative Affairs Commission, specifically on the collateral consequences imposed on individuals with criminal records in terms of eligibility for public-welfare benefits and employment restrictions.
China Released Draft Encouraged Catalogue to Boost Foreign Investment: The Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment (Exposure Draft) is encouraging foreign investment in the development of emerging technologies, such as EVOL and generative AI, and in western regions like Xinjiang.
Here are 9 major Hong Kong laws that took effect in 2024: The enactment of Hong Kong’s own national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (or “Article 23”) in March of this year was one of the most significant.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Hong Kong adopts facial recognition tech at Sha Tau Kok border checkpoint: This marks the first time the Hong Kong authorities have adopted facial recognition technology, or “contactless channels” at a land border checkpoint, a scheme it aims to expand to other checkpoints.
‘Major incident’: China-backed hackers breached US Treasury workstations: According to available indicators, a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat actor used a stolen key to remotely access certain U.S. Treasury workstations and unclassified documents.
A 9th telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the White House says: According to Biden administration officials, the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon has impacted at least nine telecommunications companies, giving Chinese officials access to private texts, phone conversations, and locations of an unknown number of Americans.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Former state media journalist flees China amid police harassment: “Xiao Wu,” a successful former journalist with a Chinese state-run newspaper who had millions of followers on Chinese social media, describes fleeing China earlier this year with his entire family to escape increasing repression and police harassment.
Video series: ‘China Beyond Borders’ looks at Beijing’s influence and intimidation: A series of short documentaries from Radio Free Asia investigates Beijing’s transnational repression, TikTok, and hacking that targeted an AI company’s intellectual property.
How the UN Cybercrime Convention 2023 can pose a threat to human rights defenders and exiled journalists: Without adequate safeguards, the Convention, proposed by Russia and sponsored by countries with historical records of human rights violations, including China, could pose a threat to freedom of expression, cross-border surveillance, and transnational repression, especially for those operating in exile.
Police called to Chinese consulate in the United Kingdom after graffiti protest: Chinese Consulate staff had started an altercation with a Radio Free Asia journalist who filmed them cleaning up Hong Kong protest graffiti, which read “F--- PRC!” [People’s Republic of China] “Independence for Hong Kong,” on the street outside.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
A year of mass attacks reveals anger and frustration in China: In 2024, the prevalence of mass attacks in China has led many to believe that the sluggish Chinese economy and the lack of free expression, where outlets for venting frustrations have been censored or shut down altogether, have led to a sharp increase of these violent outbursts.
Related: China’s Xi vows to stop mass killings known as ‘revenge on society crimes’. Xi has since called on all local governments “to strengthen prevention and control of risks at the source, strictly prevent extreme cases from occurring, and to resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner.” However, strengthening control over people’s daily lives may only contribute to the negative feelings underlying the phenomenon.
Related: What is neijuan, and why is China worried about it?. “Neijuan” is the Chinese term for “involution,” a concept from sociology that refers to a society that can no longer evolve: many Chinese millennials and Gen Z people feel that the opportunities that were available to their parents no longer exist, and that working hard no longer offers guaranteed rewards. The term’s popularity on social media has been ill-received by the authorities.
Gov’t strips Hong Kong’s ‘Father of Democracy’ Martin Lee of Justice of the Peace title: Lee’s appointment was revoked by Chief Executive John Lee, according to a gazette notice issued on Friday afternoon. The notice did not provide a reason for the revocation.
Jimmy Lai trial drags on with Hong Kong on geopolitical knife's edge: As Lai’s trial enters into its third year in 2025, Hong Kong authorities’ focus on national security risks straining economic ties with West further.
Hong Kong activist arrested over 2019 protest sees social work license suspended for 5 years: Lau Ka-tong’s suspension, the longest revocation yet under new laws meant to protect national security, was on the basis of his conviction and its impact on the sector’s reputation, according to the licensing board.
Hong Kong police deploy around independent book fair as attendees stopped and searched: More than 20 Hong Kong police officers have been deployed to a week-long independent book fair, checking attendees’ IDs and bags.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China is building new detention centers all over the country as Xi Jinping widens corruption purge: In China, over 200 detention centers have been built or expanded specifically for "liuzhi," a form of detention where any "suspect" can be held for up to 6mo without a lawyer or contact with the outside world—a systemic violation of human rights law.
China’s United Front takes Taiwanese youth on Xinjiang trips: Beijing is going after children and younger people in Taiwan, taking them on trips to Xinjiang that take participants on a tour of the Party’s favorite stereotypes about the Uyghurs and Kazakhs who live there, complete with dancing and barbecued meat.
China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet: Activists are concerned that this is Beijing's further exploitation of Tibetans and their land, where thousands are believed to have been killed in waves of crackdowns over the years.
International Responses 国际反应
Activist bounties, passport cancellations slammed by UK, US, EU, Canada, as Hong Kong gov’t condemns ‘slander’: The UK government stated that it was “deeply committed” to supporting Hongkongers who relocated to the UK, while the US government said that the extraterritorial application of Hong Kong’s security laws was a form of “transnational repression,” which threatened US sovereignty and the rights of people around the world.
Canada condemns China's steps against Canadian institutions over Uyghurs, Tibet: In a statement, the Canadian government said that it "expresses solidarity with the members of the Canadian Tibet Committee and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project and condemns the decision by the Chinese Government to punish them for speaking out for human rights."
WHO implores China to finally share Covid origins data, five years on: In order to prepare for future pandemics, the WHO said, it is a “moral and scientific imperative” for China to transparently share any information it has about the origins of COVID-19.