HRIC Weekly Brief
December 19, 2023
Top News 头条
Two major trials of human rights activists are under way this week: in Hong Kong, the trial of prominent media mogul and pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai began on Monday under intense global scrutiny. David Cameron, the British Foreign Secretary, made a statement condemning Lai’s imprisonment and calling for his release. As Lai holds a British passport, the UK government has come under pressure to advocate for his rights as a UK citizen.
Meanwhile, the trial of Li Qiaochu, feminist human rights activist who has been detained for “subversion of state power” since 2021 for her work exposing the torture of Xu Zhiyong, also a prominent human rights activist and Li’s partner, was held today and ended with no public verdict. Amnesty International called the trial a “thinly veiled attempt to silence rights activism,” while the United States’ Congressional-Executive Commission on China called for Li’s release.
Last week, Hong Kong announced a HK$1,000,000 bounty on each of five overseas activists for “inciting secession” and “colluding with foreign forces” under the National Security Law, including Youtubers Johnny Fok and Tony Choi, and pro-democracy activists Simon Cheng, Hui Wing-ting, and Joey Siu, who is a United States citizen. HRIC strongly condemns the Hong Kong government's extraterritorial targeting of human rights activists.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Policing Pessimism, and Everything Else: The Cybersecurity Administration of China has released new, vague, and largely unhelpful guidelines explaining its campaign targeting “undesirable attitudes” in short videos, including a prohibition on content that is “negative and pessimistic.”
Politburo Whisperer on Advancing “Foreign-Related Rule of Law”: The NPC Observer’s analysis of foreign-related rule of law predicts upcoming legislation in this area, as well as an increased focus on attracting foreign investment and creating a legal framework for the Belt and Road Initiative.
Provisions on Efforts to Review and Assess the Necessity of Detention: A translation of the new provisions shows that while some factors may be positively taken into consideration in evaluating the necessity of their detention, anyone “suspected of crimes endangering national security” is specifically excluded.
Hong Kong gov’t amends national security law, allowing suspects’ assets to be frozen until legal proceedings end: Hong Kong’s National Security Law originally allowed the authorities to freeze suspects’ assets until legal proceedings against them have concluded or for up to two years, whichever comes first. Now, there is no longer a two-year deadline, which means a freeze can be indeterminate.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Pro-China Youtube Network Used A.I. to Malign U.S., Report Finds: As part of a China-linked campaign, at least 30 Youtube channels, with over 120 million views between them in the past year, have been using AI to create English-language commentary that criticized the U.S. and promoted China. (中文)
Censorship of Frank Economic Discussion and “Ten Questions About the Private Economy”: There has been a recent online crackdown on Chinese economists when they express criticism of the government’s handling of the economy, such as comments stating that China still lacks the requisite rule of law for a thriving market. Many of them have been banned from Weibo and other platforms. (中文)
Related: Chinese netizens have been referring to Hong Kong as a “relic of an international financial center” online, spurring censorship and refutations from the government.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Human rights activist Song Ze (legal name Song Guangqiang), currently imprisoned for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” as well as providing programs and tools for intrusion and control of computer information systems, has finally been able to meet with a lawyer more than four months after his arrest.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Congressional group demands probe into Beijing’s role in violence against protesters on US soil: At a press conference attended by HRIC last week, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China announced that it is asking the Justice Department to investigate China’s role in perpetrating violent attacks against protestors during the APEC summit in San Francisco.
China silencing critics in US, Congress told: Zhang Jinrui, student protestor during the White Paper Movement, testified before Congress last week regarding the harassment he has faced once he started expressing discontent with the CCP, including from other Chinese students. “Fear of retaliation had kept me from speaking out publicly against the regime, even after I came to the U.S., and this is the shared experience of many Chinese citizens outside of China.”
'I Have No Future': China's Rebel Influencer is Still Paying a Price: The New York Times profiled Li Ying, aka @whyyoutouzhele on Twitter/X, one of the most influential voices of the White Paper Movement who provides a window into what is really happening in China. Li describes his fears for his safety, given the intensity with which he has experienced transnational repression from the Chinese government, including a strange man showing up at his house. (中文)
China pressures Taiwan with trade accusations and warplanes a month before election: In addition to targeting Taiwanese government officials, China has been putting pressure on Taiwan by holding military drills in the Strait and conducting a trade investigation over supposed WTO rule violations, scheduled to end right before the election.
Related: A leader of Taiwan’s Nationalist Party visits China as the island’s presidential election looms.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Tibetan activist and former political prisoner dies at 54: Kunchok Lodoe, former Tibetan political prisoner, passed away last week from unknown causes. Lodoe was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 1992 for protesting against the Chinese government, but was released after three due to severe health issues caused by beatings and ill treatment in prison.
Detained Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung awarded human rights prize by France, Germany: Chow Hang-tung, Hong Kong human rights lawyer who has been imprisoned for over two years for "inciting subversion" and organizing Tiananmen commemoration vigils, has been named a winner of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
Motorcycle protester appears in 'confessional' video: A protestor who rode his motorcycle while carrying a banner reading “Liberate Hong Kong” during the 2019 protests has appeared in a coerced “confession” video made by the Hong Kong police for a propaganda series airing on TV.
Over 25% of gov’t appointments to Hong Kong’s ‘patriots’ District Council lost to pro-democracy rivals in 2019: Following record low turnout for Hong Kong’s “patriot-only” district council race, another 179 council members have been directly appointed by the government—but of the appointees, 49 had previously lost to a pro-democracy candidate in the 2019 elections.
9 to face sentencing over unlawful assembly near PolyU during Hong Kong protests in 2019: More than four years after the events in question, nine young protestors have been found guilty of unlawful assembly—one also of possessing an offensive weapon, a laser pen—for participating in protests near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2019.
Hong Kong man with autism pleads not guilty to insulting national anthem at volleyball match: The 19-year-old was arrested this summer for booing and showing a thumbs down from the audience when “March of the Volunteers” played at a women’s volleyball game.
Veteran Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu fined HK$6,000 for breaching fire safety regulations: The Hong Kong Fire Services Department confiscated activist Koo Sze-yiu’s belongings for placing them on fire escape stairs, and charged him for obstructing the fire escape. In court, Koo, who had been in the hospital for his stage 4 rectal cancer at the time of the confiscation, said he was being singled out for “targeted, selective prosecution” based on his political activities.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
Policing East Turkistan: Mapping Police and Security Forces in the Uyghur Region: The Uyghur Human Rights Project has released a new study explaining the layout of the policing system used to repress Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The police in question far outnumber those in any other province and are mostly made up of military-like units that are “adept and specifically coordinated to tackle perceived affronts to the CCP’s authority, but do not perform well in addressing common crime.”
Civil servants forced to watch propaganda films about 2019 protests: A Hong Kong civil servant reports that the civil service, once an independent non-political institution, is now required to attend trainings to “brainwash” them into accepting the official narrative that the 2019 protests were a coordinated attempt by foreign forces to undermine Hong Kong’s government.
Related: Upholding national security to become ‘core value’ in Hong Kong’s updated civil service code.
International Responses 国际反应
EU Parliament calls on China to abolish Tibetan boarding schools: With an overwhelming majority, the EU Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning the abduction and forced assimilation of Tibetan children through state-run boarding schools.
Belgian far right expels alleged China spy from party: Belgian far right party Vlaams Belang has expelled one of their senators, Frank Creyelman, after revelations came to light that he had been taking directions from a Chinese handler for the last three years, with the explicit goal of dividing “the US-European relationship.”