HRIC Weekly Brief
January 23, 2023
Top News 头条
Today, China’s Universal Periodic Review on its human rights situation was held in Geneva. In the lead-up to the review, Beijing sent messages lobbying non-Western countries to provide their support and ramped up censorship of human rights-related topics online. The wide array of human rights concerns created by the National Security Law in Hong Kong is one major area of discussion, yet the National Security Law has made it nigh impossible for local civil society groups to freely advocate for human rights in Hong Kong. In addition, violations against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet and other minorities such as the LGBTQ+ community have been widely reported. Ahead of the review, HRIC made two civil society submissions: the first covers online rights and internet freedoms in Hong Kong, which have significantly deteriorated in the post-COVID era, especially after the promulgation of the National Security Law, while the second, in collaboration with China Rainbow Observation, The Chinese Lala Association, and Chinese Trans Voices, focuses on discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression in China.
What’s next for Taiwan? The Taiwanese authorities reported that six Chinese balloons have recently been detected flying over or near the island, and warplanes and military ships have also been spotted nearby. A survey by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Taiwanese Institute for National Defense and Security Research shows that most experts believe invasion of Taiwan is not an option for China, though a quarantine or blockade may be possible. Meanwhile, Beijing has indicated that it intends to step up influence campaigns aimed at unification with Taiwan.
Special Feature - Shengchun Sophie Luo: A Woman with Voice and Attitude
Today, HRIC concludes our special feature on human rights activist Luo Shengchun. We present the full piece spanning Part 1 to Part 4, supplemented by a brief update in Part 5 regarding Luo Shengchun's life after our 2023 summer interviews. While the current feature series concludes here, Luo Shengchun’s narrative extends beyond these pages, much like the enduring history of resistance against oppressive regimes.
Read the full feature on HRIC’s website.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Religious Affairs Regulations: New stricter laws on religion, translated here, ban minors’ participation in religious activities and order religious groups to “make interpretations of religious teachings and rules in line with contemporary China's requirements for development and improvement, and in line with the outstanding traditional Chinese culture.”
China vows judicial disclosure after outcry over plan to curb access to rulings: In response to international outcry over China’s plan to apparently replace China Judgments Online with another, more limited, judicial database, the Supreme People’s Court released a statement vowing to “deepen judicial disclosure.” Experts say little, if anything, is expected to change in terms of policy.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Online pastor in China's Dalian gets 14 years for 'superstition': Pastor Kan Xiaoyong, his wife Wang Fengying, and four church volunteers were sentenced to years in prison for “using superstition to undermine the law.” Kan and Wang were targeted for creating an online preaching platform called the “Home Discipleship Network.” Prior to trial, the couple was tortured by the authorities to make them confess.
Confronting Digital Authoritarianism Through Digital Democracy: Lessons From Taiwan: As the continuous and ongoing target of digital disinformation campaigns from Beijing, Taiwan has promised full government transparency, democratic participation, and civic education as a way to counter fake news and other disinformation efforts.
China's TikTok users face punishment for vulgar content: Beijing’s latest censorship efforts include a points system for streamers on video platform Douyin, TikTok’s sister app. In addition to vulgar content, the system targets "unhealthy views on relationships" and "abnormal beauty standards,” which may be used to target LGBTQ+ and gender-nonconforming streamers.
Taiwan bombarded with cyberattacks ahead of election: Prior to the Taiwanese election, numbers of cyberattacks “designed to overwhelm and crash networks in Taiwan” spiked more than 30 times that of the same period last year.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
台湾民主的模样？两代海外中国人的选举观察 [What does Taiwan’s democracy look like? Election observations from two generations of overseas Chinese]: Taiwan’s elections hold meaning not only for the island itself and for Beijing, but also for Chinese diaspora communities who observe Taiwan’s vigorous democratic process. HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo spoke to Deutsche Welle about his impressions of the election as a visitor.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Tiananmen massacre victim Qi Zhiyong dies of illness in Beijing: Qi Zhiyong, pro-democracy activist and survivor of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, in which he lost a leg, has passed away at the age of 67. Qi had reportedly been hospitalized in relation to his ongoing health issues, including serious kidney problems.
China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists, CPJ says: A new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists found that China is the largest single jailer of journalists, making up 32% of the world total. Nearly half of those targeted are Uyghur journalists who reported on abuses in Xinjiang.
Chinese police hold dissident who pledged allegiance to Taiwan: Chongqing-based dissident Liu Ermu was detained for fifteen days around the Taiwan elections, after he declared “allegiance” to the democratically-elected Taiwanese government.
Missing Uyghur detainee confirmed jailed for Islamic studies 11 years ago: Ebuzer Abbas, a 24-year-old Uyghur crane operator, has been jailed for attending Islamic Studies classes at age 13, local authorities confirmed.
Hong Kong SAR: UN experts urge authorities to drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, call for his release: Four United Nations Special Rapporteurs have released a statement calling on the Hong Kong government to drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, stating that they are “alarmed by the multiple and serious violations of Jimmy Lai’s freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, and his right to a fair trial,” and that the National Security Law is not in line with international legal obligations.
Related: First prosecution witness testifies against Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong woman given suspended sentence over reposting call to boycott ‘patriots’ District Council election: Yeung Sze-wing received a two-month suspended sentence for sharing a Facebook post encouraging a boycott of Hong Kong’s “patriots-only” District Council election.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China starts publishing youth jobless data again, with a new method and a lower number: China has started publishing data on youth unemployment for the first time since it hit a peak 21.3% in June 2023. The new number, 14.9%, was calculated using a new method that excludes all current students (previously, students who reported wanting a job but were unable to find employment were counted as unemployed).
China’s ruling party takes direct control of country’s universities: For the first time, CCP committees are merging with university Presidents’ Offices across China in order to have direct control over higher education.
International Responses 国际反应
Taiwan’s remaining Pacific allies pledge support: After Nauru cut ties with Taiwan in favor of China, other pacific island nations have reiterated their support for Taiwan.
Related: Philippine president congratulates Taiwan’s president-elect, strongly opposed by China.