HRIC Weekly Brief
February 18, 2025
Top News 头条
An investigation by the Observer has found that Google cooperates with censorship requests made by the Chinese government. Specifically, Google has taken down videos on YouTube at the request of China’s Ministry of Public Security, and removed user accounts which impersonated Xi Jinping in order “to covertly criticise Xi and to circumvent censorship laws, which are some of the world’s most prohibitive.”
Authorities in Guangdong have mandated that all primary and secondary schools delay the start of the new term until February 13 following revelations —spread beyond China’s Great Firewall by students posting on 611Study.ICU, a project started by overseas activists and named after the phrase "study from 6 AM to 11 PM, and end up in ICU"—that over 2,000 schools had illegally forced students back early for extended study hours.
Also: according to a new report from the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, the Chinese government is not only using detention centers in Xinjiang and Tibet for forced labor within those areas, but also for the large-scale transfer of "surplus" rural workers to state-led labor programs across the country. The report, at 1138 pages, also details how the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities has since transitioned to long-term imprisonment in regular prisons, while released detainees are often subjected to forced labor in industries such as textiles and electronics.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
NPCSC Session Watch: Private Sector Promotion, Civil Aviation & NPC Preparations: The NPC Standing Committee will convene for its fourteenth session from February 24 to 25, primarily to prepare for the NPC’s 2025 session, scheduled to open on March 5.
Chinese Companies’ New Tactic to Stop Damaging Research: Legal Threats: Some Chinese companies who have been named in reports on China’s forced labor practices are now suing the universities and think tanks who published the research for “defamation.”
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Salt Typhoon remains active, hits more telecom networks via Cisco routers: According to a new report by cybersecurity company Recorded Future, the Chinese hacker group Salt Typhoon has continued to hit multiple additional networks worldwide, including two in the United States.
China_chatbot_14: What happens when Chinese AI meets Chinese media: Chinese AI companies such as DeepSeek have not released the datasets they use to train their models. Therefore, evaluation benchmarks are one way to externally prove that the models “are being trained to align with CCP values.”
TikTok returns to Apple and Google app stores in the US: U.S. President Donald Trump postponed enforcement of a ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform for 75 days.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Acquittal Undermines Efforts Against Transnational Repression: In a deeply concerning outcome that sets a dangerous precedent for transnational repression, Henry Litang Liang was acquitted of charges that he worked with PRC officials to identify pro-democracy protestors and U.S.-based Chinese and Taiwanese activists.
The A-level student who became an enemy of the Chinese state: Chloe Cheung, at 19 years old, is the youngest of 19 activists accused of breaching the National Security Law, introduced by Beijing in response to the 2019 pro-democracy protests. In a new interview, Cheung tells the BBC: “I didn't want the government to think I was scared. Because if Hong Kongers in Hong Kong can't speak out for themselves any more, then we outside of the city—who can speak freely without fear—we have to speak up for them.”
China tops list of countries trying to silence exiled dissidents over past decade, study shows: According to the study by Freedom House, a small number of countries account for the vast majority of all documented physical attacks on dissidents, with China the most frequent offender, responsible for 272 incidents, or 22% of recorded cases.
Related: Ten Findings from Ten Years of Data on Transnational Repression.
China denies Swiss allegations of surveillance on Uyghur, Tibetan diaspora: According to a report released by the Swiss government, which was based on a study conducted by the University of Basel, China has been pressuring Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland to spy on each other while systematically monitoring politically active people.
London council won’t argue against China’s ‘super-embassy’ at key hearing: A representative of the Tower Hamlets Borough Council said it would not be offering any evidence opposing the plan, despite having previously rejected the Chinese government’s planning application on two occasions. Last week, the super-embassy plan was met with large protests, as hundreds expressed their opposition.
A former aide to New York governors and her husband face new charges in foreign agent of China case: Prosecutors have accused Linda Sun and her husband Chris Hu of promoting Chinese government priorities within New York state government, such as preventing representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office. The additional charges levied against the pair are “related to three financial transactions in 2020 totaling $1.5 million.”
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Kazakhstan man comes back from China beaten, in altered mental state: Zhengis Zhanat, a citizen of Kazakhstan, had traveled back to his hometown in Xinjiang to support his mother. He called his wife from Xinjiang to tell her that the authorities had poisoned him and were trying to kill him, after which he was detained. Zhanat is now in a hospital in Kazahkstan, as his family faces threats from unknown parties.
Hong Kong nat. security police take in 3rd relative of wanted activist Carmen Lau to assist investigation: A distant female relative of Lau was reportedly brought to Tuen Mun Police Station to assist with an investigation into the activist Carmen Lau, who fled Hong Kong in 2021.
Hong Kong pollster halts all self-funded research, may shut down amid nat. security scrutiny: The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute announced the cessation of all research after its Chief Executive Officer, Robert Chung, was taken in twice for questioning last month.
Hong Kong Journalists Assoc. annual dinner postponed after hotel axes booking over ‘unstable power supply’: The Hong Kong Journalists Association’s attempt to change the date and proposed other alternatives to the Regal Hongkong Hotel was rejected, adding to concerns that the hotel was pressured by authorities to cancel the booking.
HKFP reports false complaints and harassment of partners to police, launches new zero-tolerance policy: HKFP’s new “zero tolerance” policy targets smear campaigns, trolling, surveillance, defamation, doxxing, cyberattacks, false complaints to the authorities, impersonation, as well as threats or pressure aimed at third parties connected to Hong Kong Free Press.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
Sinicization Campaigns Target Hui Communities and Mosques: The Chinese government’s Sinicization campaigns have been especially visible through the transformation of mosques, which have been the site of confrontation between police and local protesters, and amongst Hui communities.
Prato Gets Wenzhou Media Liaison Office: Chinese international communication centers (ICCs) are meant to harness the strength of local media groups and local propaganda efforts to “tell China’s story well” and strengthen the Party’s “discourse power” globally, as demonstrated by a new center in Prato, Italy.
Questions raised over Lord Mandelson’s work with Chinese ‘influence operation’: Concerns have arisen over the UK Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson’s Global Counsel consultancy, which was recently linked to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a group believed to be a covert influence operation to co-opt western businesspeople.
Hong Kong vows to keep up ‘national security’ crackdown: Deputy Police Commissioner Andrew Kan, who heads the Hong Kong police National Security Department, said the police will continue to focus on threats to “national security” and keep up pressure on overseas pro-democracy activists by questioning their family members and associates in Hong Kong.
International Responses 国际反应
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs announces C$1.8 million funding package to protect digital security of human rights activists: The funding package is an important step in developing a national strategy to combat digital transnational repression against Hong Kongers and other human rights activists in Canada.