HRIC Weekly Brief
March 12, 2024
Top News 头条
Hong Kong has chosen to double down on its homegrown Article 23 national security law and has accelerated the process to push the bill through, despite growing international pressure and domestic concerns. The full draft text was presented at a special meeting last Friday. Many of the proposed rules pose a serious danger to human rights including freedom of speech and association, and violate international standards for criminal legal proceedings. For example: Hong Kongers would need a “reasonable defense” for possessing “seditious” materials such as the Apple Daily newspaper; police courts would be able to limit detainees’ access to lawyers; and life sentences would be a possibility for charges including “treason, insurrection and sabotage, targeting acts that endanger the sovereignty of China and collusion with foreign forces in damaging public infrastructure.”
On International Women’s Day, last Friday, Human Rights in China honored the brave women who have sacrificed their safety, their freedom, and even their lives to defend human rights in China. In Beijing, the Two Sessions, the year’s largest political event, underscored the lack of women in powerful positions in China, and women’s rights were barely mentioned in the year’s agenda-setting. In Hong Kong, women defenders have faced additional hardship due to their gender, and rights groups have called on the government to do more to resolve gender equality issues.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
China passes law granting Communist Party more control over cabinet: A new amendment to the State Council Organic Law further transfers ruling power from the State Council to the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping.
Related: China's choreographed political meet carries message of control.
China to adopt wide-ranging security laws to ‘resolutely safeguard’ sovereignty: According to the legislative agenda announced during the Two Sessions, China plans to introduce a number of new laws and amendments this year targeting national security, including “an emergency management law, an energy law, an atomic energy law, and a hazardous chemicals safety law.”
China tightens grip over internet during Two Sessions meetings: During the yearly Two Sessions, the CCP tightened internet controls, making it harder for those inside China to access websites overseas, despite using VPNs.
The Supreme People’s Court’s New Case Database: The new Supreme People’s Court curated case database, the potential replacement to China Judgments Online, launched at the end of February and hosts fewer than 4000 cases to date. The database is accessible here, but access requires registration that is difficult without a Chinese ID card.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
US gov’t announces arrest of former Google engineer for alleged AI trade secret theft: A former Google engineer, Ding Linwei, has been arrested in the United States for stealing AI trade secrets, while working for two China-based AI firms. The revelation comes as AI-related tensions between the two countries remain high.
Bill to ban TikTok passes 50-0 out of House committee: Last week, a bill proposing to ban the app TikTok unless it splits from its parent company, ByteDance, over China-related security concerns, passed a House Committee in a 50-0 vote.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Interview: Young Activist Leaders and HRIC's Zhou Fengsuo Share First-Hand Accounts of the White Paper Movement: In January, HRIC’s Zhou Fengsuo and two young activists spoke to Radio Taiwan International regarding their experiences organizing during the White Paper Movement, and how they see the future of Chinese pro-democracy activism. This is the second part of an interview translated by HRIC.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Is Chasing Deadbeat Debtors "Picking Quarrels"?: Online furor has erupted over the case of a construction contractor who was arrested, along with members of her legal team, for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for merely attempting to get local officials in Guizhou to pay her company what they owed.
After protest, Tibetan monastery leader and village official sent to detention center: The leader of a Tibetan monastery and a village official are among those transferred to a detention center in Sichuan province, following the arrest of over a thousand peaceful protestors in Tibet last month. Meanwhile, the authorities are carrying out searches to find those who shared images of the protests, as revealing the government’s repressive activities is strictly forbidden.
Related: Authorities urge ‘stability’ amid restrictions on Tibetans due to dam protests.
'No serious mass political incidents' in Tibet last year, says senior official: Despite well-publicized protests and mass arrests last month, at a briefing in Beijing, a top Tibet official denied the existence of any “mass events.”
Interview: 'I’ll never forget it as long as I live. It was very dangerous.’: A Hui Muslim man describes making the choice to flee China due to concerns over his children’s safety and religious repression, and their difficult journey through Central America to the United States.
Calls grow for release of transgender activist held in Hong Kong: Lai Ke, a transgender activist from China, has been imprisoned in Hong Kong since May 2023 when she attempted to flee to Canada. She was recently moved from the psychiatric center where she was being held—and mistreated and denied medications, according to supporters—to Castle Peak Bay Immigration Detention Centre, and may be deported back to China, where she will face persecution due to her gender identity.
Hong Kong judges dismiss appeal in sedition case for pro-democracy radio host: A Hong Kong court has rejected activist and radio host Tam Tak-chi’s appeal of his 40-month sentence on sedition charges, stating that “sedition is a statutory offence and intention to incite violence is not a necessary element of the offence.”
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
Xinjiang Authorities Are Retroactively Applying Laws to Prosecute Religious Leaders as Criminals: The Chinese authorities regularly use past religious activity as evidence of “criminal” behavior when targeting Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. A newly leaked court verdict, sentencing a well-respected religious leader to 17 years for what would have only a few years prior been considered normal religious activity, sheds new light on this policy of retroactive punishment.
International Responses 国际反应
US official expresses concern over crackdown on Tibetans protesting dam: In response to news that over 1000 Tibetans have been arrested over peacefully protesting the construction of a dam that would destroy centuries-old monasteries, Uzra Zeya, the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, emphasized that the “U.S. stands with Tibetans in preserving their unique cultural, religious, and linguistic identity.”
US Army intelligence officer who wanted to be like ‘Jason Bourne’ charged with selling secrets to China: A 24-year-old U.S. Army intelligence analyst has been arrested in the United States for allegedly sending confidential military files, including plans for Taiwan’s defense, to an unidentified person in Hong Kong who forwarded data to China.
On Chinese forced labor, Europe plays catch-up with the US: The EU plans to introduce a ban on products made from forced labor, but critics say it will be significantly less effective than the US ban. The legislation does not specifically mention Xinjiang, although forced labor of Uyghurs is a key concern, and sets the standard high for showing proof of a violation.