Top News 头条
Last week, an ordinary garment worker from Pingshan, Sichuan, set a textile factory on fire to protest unpaid wages related to the U.S.-China trade war. Despite the authorities’ attempts to censor the topic, Chinese internet users quickly picked up the story of “800 Brother” (nicknamed for the amount of yuan he was supposedly owed) as a proxy to discuss the government’s approach to the trade war, labor rights, and the lack of alternate options for ordinary people to resolve disputes. Meanwhile, protests by construction workers, teachers, and factory employees have erupted across China in recent days amid rising public anger over the impacts of tightening local government finances.
In the United States, the Trump administration moved to revoke Harvard University's ability to enroll foreign students, claiming that the university had fostered antisemitism and coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party. A federal judge temporarily blocked the move, but international students were left blindsided. Although transnational repression has become a serious issue at U.S. universities in the last few years, student visas are also one of the primary ways that young dissidents are able to escape the censorship and repression of the CCP, and Chinese international students have been a strong force behind powerful grassroots initiatives such as 2022’s White Paper Movement. As events continue to unfold, Hong Kong’s education bureau has attempted to entice international students affected by the order.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
‘When power can define madness’: China accused of using mental health law to lock up critics: 12 years after China’s groundbreaking “Mental Health Law,” victims and activists say that involuntary hospitalization remains common as a method of silencing political dissidents.
Interpretation on Several Issues Regarding the Application of Law in Administrative Open Government Information Cases: This new Interpretation, which takes effect on June 1, 2025, will revoke the Supreme People’s Court Provisions on Several Issues in Hearing Administrative Cases on Open Government Information.
Implementation Rules for the PRC Provisions on the Administration of Foreigners' Religious Activities in the Mainland: This updated set of regulations, which became effective as of May 1, 2025, to govern the religious activities of foreign personnel, is seen by many to be indicative of the Chinese authorities’ desire to ban foreign religious involvement in China.
April 2025: COVID-19 and China’s Newly Revised Infectious Diseases Law: Updating the October 2023 draft, the new revision expands interagency coordination & disease reporting, expands local government authority, limits use of certain severe restrictions, and penalizes noncompliance with epidemic-control measures.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
HRIC on X (Twitter): The South China Morning Post reported that the Ministry of Public Security of China has demonstrated a new AI surveillance tool, which has collected more than 30 billion Telegram messages, monitored 70 million accounts registered with Chinese mobile phone numbers and 390,000 groups and channels, and focused on tracking information related to political topics.
Measures on the Management of the National Online Identity Authentication Public Service: Effective as of July 15, 2025, the Measures require public service platforms to collect only necessary information, obtain consent, ensure data security, and store data within China, while internet platforms must provide equal services regardless of identity verification method and obtain separate consent for third-party data sharing.
A Taiwan Slip on Chinese Television: Within hours of a broadcaster’s slip referring to Taiwan and China as two countries, video clips of the remarks disappeared from CCTV’s website and authorities also moved swiftly to expunge all versions of the broadcast online and across social media platforms.
_China_Chatbot_21: Initial tests of Manus, a new Chinese AI agent, showed that it seemed less prone to censorship on “sensitive” topics like Taiwan than equivalents like DeepSeek—but only internationally. “Netizens report that if you visit Manus in China you get redirected to a page which says the Chinese version of Manus is under development.”
Yaxue Cao on X (Twitter): With no explanation, X has suspended the account of Xu Yan, a rights activist who was recently released from prison on political charges and wife to currently imprisoned human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
HRIC on X (Twitter): Memorials for the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre have been planned around the world, including in Toronto and Vancouver.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
China student says college made her 'take off trousers' for period leave: Gengdan Institute university college had said in a statement that its staff had “followed protocol” in asking the student to undergo a check with a school nurse in order to receive period leave, but social media users decried the encounter as a serious invasion of privacy.
Xiao Jing Can Xue on X (Twitter): He Zhaoxiangrui, a postdoctoral fellow at Tsinghua who had studied previously in Albany, NY, has reportedly committed suicide after he was asked to leave his program after being detained by the police for attempting to petition the government.
Ex-district councillor arrested under Article 23 says she is being ‘silenced’ after losing job, ousted from play: Katrina Chan, a former Tsuen Wan district councilor, explained that within 24 hours she had been fired due to an anonymous complaint and removed from her role in the play after the venue threatened to cancel the rental unless she withdrew.
Hong Kong activist Anna Kwok’s father is being prosecuted as a form of ‘collective punishment,’ according to rights groups: The arrest allegedly took place after AIA, a Hong Kong insurance company, notified the police that Kwok Yin-sang had attempted to change the policy on an education savings plan he had bought and been contributing to. Ms. Kwok was not the plan’s policyholder.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
Independent Hong Kong Media Targeted with Tax Audits: According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, at least six news outlets and even their family members, including InMedia, The Witness, ReNews, Boomhead, and Hong Kong Free Press, have been receiving government tax demands since November 2023 as part of Inland Revenue Department inspections.
Patriotic carnival to return to Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown: Hong Kong’s Victoria Park is historically the site of annual candlelight vigils to remember the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, but vigils there have been banned since 2020.
International Responses 国际反应
Former prisoners and hostages urge Starmer to secure release of Jimmy Lai: Lai, the 77-year-old media mogul, who is a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for 1,602 days.
South Africa downgrades Taiwan status, signaling more China influence, say experts: Despite having formal diplomatic ties since 1997, the Taiwan Liaison Office is now renamed Taipei Commercial Office and has been told to relocate from the South African capital.
UK lawmaker slams China over Uyghur abuses, calls for global action: Member of the UK House of Lords and Director of the International Bar Association's Institute of Human Rights, Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, expressed solidarity with Uyghur Muslims and criticized China's policies in Xinjiang during the 3rd East Turkistan Uyghur Summit.