HRIC Weekly Brief
Top News 头条
The world continues to commemorate the second anniversary of the White Paper Movement in 2022: in London, dozens of activists from China and Hong Kong converged at a church and lit candles to mark the anniversary of the November 24, 2022, fire, the catalyst of the movement. The fatal fire had left at least 10 Uyghurs dead. Meanwhile, increased censorship and surveillance by Chinese authorities on the topic had left prominent dissidents and activists with banned social media accounts.
HRIC continues to work with civil society organizations and individuals across the United States and Europe on joint advocacy efforts for the White Paper Movement. For instance, HRIC translates and publishes poet Liu Jianshu’s poem, “Tonight I Hold Up a White Paper,” which channels the quiet power of the White Paper Movement, celebrating the courage, grief and yearning of the Chinese people wanting hope and renewal. As a practical guide, HRIC also published a legal risk assessment for anyone who may be in a similar protest situation, providing guidance on one’s fundamental rights in accordance with the law. The information in the guide is based upon eyewitness recollections and related reports.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
NPC Calendar: December 2024: The 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee is expected to convene for its 13th session in late December, while the Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet in mid-December to decide on the agenda and the dates of the session.
China court rules crypto ownership legal, as digital currency head accused of bribery: The Shanghai Songjiang People’s Court had clarified that personal ownership of crypto assets is not illegal, but business-related crypto activities remain prohibited.
Hong Kong’s top court affirms same-sex married couples’ housing, inheritance rights in landmark LGBTQ decision: This is a victory for the LGBTQ community and activists in Hong Kong, who have seen the judicial system as the only hope for reversing laws they say are rooted in discrimination.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
FaceTime Users in China Targeted by Authorities: As Chinese authorities continue to tighten their control over communication technologies, FaceTime users are now facing pressure from law enforcement. Recently, iPhone users in various parts of China reported being summoned by the police after using Apple’s video messaging software, FaceTime.
China plans big data warning system to prevent public killings: In the wake of recent incidents like the car killings in Zhuhai, local officials have been urged to set up systems that analyze huge amounts of big data to warn them of potential social tensions and disgruntlement.
The Party in the Machine: In China, ensuring that AI is politically compliant is a difficult task, as the Party tries to ensure that large language models (LLMs), the building blocks of AI, adhere to its rigid Communist Party orthodoxy.
A three beats waltz: The ecosystem behind Chinese state-sponsored cyber threats: This recent report by Sekoia describes the evolution of China’s cyber capabilities over the past 30 years, including the incorporation of independent hacktivists into state-linked groups and the rise of the Ministry of State Security as a hacking force.
Hundreds Of Fake News Sites Pulled From Google Search: An umbrella group of four companies, dubbed Glassbridge, has been creating and operating hundreds of domains that pose as independent news websites from dozens of countries, but are in fact promoting narratives aligned to China’s political interests.
Online Censorship About Lou Ye, Geng Jun Films Winning Awards at 61st Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival: Amid tightening film censorship in China and Hong Kong, Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards have become an essential platform for Chinese filmmakers whose artistic output is not always welcomed back home.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Chinese Journalists Discuss Decline of Journalism in China Through Personal Experiences of Control and Censorship: HRIC hosted an event titled “The Silent Era” in Manhattan, featuring two Chinese journalists active in different times to share about their personal experiences of control and censorship, and the historical changes of journalists’ struggles and defeats in China.
China: Human rights defenders criminalised as well as face harassment, surveillance and transnational repression: According to the latest ranking by CIVICUS Monitor, civic space in China is closed, and the Party has systemically repressed fundamental freedoms.
No Escape: The Weaponization of Gender for the Purposes of Digital Transnational Repression: A new report by The Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, examines digital transnational repression with a focus on its gendered dimensions and impacts, including in China.
Why Trump Is So Popular With Ethnic Chinese — In China, And The Diaspora: Some voters in the United States who are loyal to the Chinese government see Trump as a shrewd businessman, while critics of the Chinese government also back Trump, thinking that his business acumen positions him to beat China on the global stage.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
China sentences journalist detained at meal with Japanese diplomat to 7 years for espionage: Dong Yuyu, deputy head of the editorial department at Guangming Daily, one of the five major state-owned papers in China, had been in police custody since February 2022. The Beijing Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court read Dong’s verdict but did not share a copy with his lawyers or family.
Inside China’s disciplinary centres for “deviant” youth: In conservative China, young Chinese who challenge the social conservatism of their parents face consequences, like being educated in “disciplinary centres.”
Jimmy Lai trial hits 100-day mark as testimony details global connections: Lai seeks to explain Taiwan and Trump aide connections, refuting that he and his media outlet Apple Daily had colluded with foreign forces to undermine national security.
4 Hong Kong democrats seek to challenge conviction and sentence in landmark subversion case: The High Court received appeal applications from activist Owen Chow, former lawmaker Helena Wong, ex-district councillor Clarisse Yeung and former union leader Winnie Yu.
Related: Ex-journalist Gwyneth Ho seeks to challenge conviction and 7-year sentence in democrats’ nat. security case. Ho, a former Stand News journalist, received the fourth-longest jail term among 45 democrats sentenced in the city’s largest national security case last week.
Hong Kong social worker Jackie Chen pleads not guilty to rioting during 2019 protest as retrial begins: Chen had originally been acquitted mid-way through her trial four years ago, but the Hong Kong government appealed to have her retried.
Silenced and erased, Hong Kong's decade of protest is now a defiant memory: On the surface Hong Kong appears to be the same, but there are signs the city has changed, from the chatter of mainland Mandarin increasingly heard alongside Hong Kong’s native Cantonese, to the national security legislation driving thousands of Hong Kongers abroad.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China warns of 'countermeasures' after Lithuania expels embassy staff: Lithuania had expelled three Chinese embassy staff, as relations fray over Vilnius' Taiwan ties and the suspected involvement of a Chinese ship in sea cables damage.
‘Italian’ purees in UK supermarkets likely to contain Chinese forced-labour tomatoes: Most Chinese tomatoes come from the Xinjiang region, where their production is linked to forced labor by Uyghur and other largely Muslim minorities.
China says top military official suspended, placed under investigation: Miao Hua, director of the political work department on the powerful Central Military Commission that oversees the People’s Liberation Army, was being investigated for disciplinary breaches, commonly read as a euphemism for corruption.
International Responses 国际反应
Uniqlo does not use Xinjiang cotton, boss says: Tadashi Yanai, had previously refused to confirm or deny whether Xinjiang cotton was used in Uniqlo clothing, in an attempt to remain “neutral.” China is Uniqlo's single biggest manufacturing hub, and one of its largest markets.
Volkswagen Exits Xinjiang After Criticism About Complicity in Human Rights Abuses: While the move came after years of pressure from rights groups, Volkswagen’s statements reveal that economics, rather than human rights, may have been the primary motivation for its decision.