Top News 头条
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has published the findings of their large-scale investigation into China’s efforts to silence dissent worldwide and expand its global influence. The full investigation, dubbed “China Targets,” describes how the CCP has weaponized international organizations, including the United Nations and Interpol, to harass and target its critics. ICIJ’s investigation also describes the cooperation of local law enforcement to silence peaceful anti-CCP protests around the world, cyberattacks aimed at specific activist groups, and more.
In Hong Kong, a shameful escalation of collective punishment against activists' families occurred last week as the Hong Kong authorities arrested activist Anna Kwok's father and brother under the Article 23 national security law for allegedly trying to access her insurance policy. These arrests are the first case of Hong Kong’s Article 23 national security law being used to target the relatives of pro-democracy activists. In recent months, there have been reports that Hong Kong police have repeatedly questioned the relatives of exiled pro-democracy activists including Tony Chung, Frances Hui and Carmen Lau. Rights groups like Human Rights Watch and ChinaAid have condemned these arrests. Human Rights in China stands with Anna Kwok and her family; these arrests have no legal basis and are blatantly in violation of international law.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Lawyers' Group Releases Report on Women's Employment Discrimination: A new report released by the Volunteer Lawyers' Network Against Employment Discrimination on International Labor Day finds that recruitment and workplace discrimination against women remain widespread in China.
NPC Calendar: May 2025: The Rural Collective Economic Organizations Law, which offers some minor protections for women’s rights in rural collective economic organizations, came into force on May 1. The NPC Standing Committee is expected to release its 2025 work priorities as well as 2025 plans for legislative, oversight, and delegates-related work in May.
This Week in Asian Law: April 27-May 3: On April 23, the Chinese authorities issued the Regulation on the Management of Terminal Devices Directly Linked to Satellite Services, which will enter into force on June 1 and requires telecom networks to report and mitigate the transmission of prohibited content.
Chinese Legislature Seeks Public Comment on 5 Bills: Environmental Code, Arbitration, Atomic Energy, Development Planning & Prisoner Management: The consultation period will end on June 13, 2025 for the draft Ecological and Environmental Code and on May 29, 2025 for the other bills, including the Prisons Law, whose amendments include the new Article 3: “Adhere to the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China over prison work, adhere to the comprehensive view of national security, and establish a fair, clean, civilized and efficient prison operation system.”
Hong Kong trans activist launches new legal challenge over ID card gender policy: Henry Tse seeks to challenge the government’s lack of a legal framework to recognize transgender people.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
TikTok fined $600 million for China data transfers that broke EU privacy rules: A four-year investigation by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission found that TikTok’s data transfers to China put users at risk, and that TikTok was not transparent with users about where their personal data was being sent.
‘Source of data’: are electric cars vulnerable to cyber spies and hackers?: British defense firms have warned staff against connecting or pairing their phones with Chinese-made electric cars, due to fears that sensitive data could be extracted.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma implicated in intimidation campaign by Chinese regime: Jack Ma reportedly participated in an intimidation campaign to convince a businessman living in France to return to China and help the CCP regime purge a top official who had fallen out of favor. Ma called the man and his lawyer in April 2021, at the behest of state security officers.
Uyghur activists condemn Harvard over training for sanctioned China group: Officials from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a “Chinese paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. government for human rights abuses, including mass detention and forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” allegedly participated in Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s executive training programs in 2023 and 2024.
Interview: Uyghur human rights activist Rushan Abbas and her fight for freedom: Abbas discusses her pro-democracy activism as a student in China in the 1980s, her move to the United States in 1989, and her efforts to draw attention to the plight of the Uyghur people.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Chinese man who displayed pro-democracy banners in detention: Mei Shilin, 27, who hung banners from an overpass in Chengdu in April in a protest action inspired by “Bridge Man” Peng Lifa, is confirmed to be in detention. Mei had displayed three banners that read: “Without political system reform, there will be no national rejuvenation,” “The people do not need a political party with unrestrained power,” and “China does not need anyone to point out the direction, democracy is the direction.”
Related: The Chengdu Overpass Protest and Its Antecedents: “The People Do Not Want a Political Party With Unchecked Power”. The date of Mei’s protest, April 15, is significant because it was the anniversary of the death of former General Secretary Hu Yaobang, who for many symbolizes a more progressive and democratic “path not taken.”
Respect for the Hero: China’s two-tier system for police and rescue work has frequently become a point of social debate. It has been a hot topic again after Bupatam Abdukader, a 24-year-old ethnic Uyghur auxiliary police officer in Xinjiang, descended 40 meters into a narrow well to rescue a toddler yet was not given a full police officer position.
Protests by unpaid Chinese workers spread amid factory closures: Growing discontent spurred by American tariffs has led to a spike in labor-related protests across China.
A U.S. Businessman Is Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in China: David Lee, who had been briefly detained and released related to a criminal investigation in China 25 years ago, was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison in April. Lee had previously traveled to China almost monthly for years without any issue, and his sentence is believed to be related to political tensions with the U.S. government.
Four pro-democracy lawmakers from ‘Hong Kong 47’ group freed after four years in jail: Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan are the first of the “Hong Kong 47” group to be released from jail, after serving sentences of more than four years. The majority of the “Hong Kong 47” have been held in custody since February 28, 2021. Nine more are expected to be released from prison this year, including LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham and ex-district councillor Tiffany Yuen.
Hong Kong man, 22, arrested under new security law for allegedly publishing ‘seditious’ online posts: Chan Ho-hin had allegedly published “seditious” posts on Instagram and X between June 27, 2024, and April 28, 2025. He is accused of posting with “the intent to bring people into hatred, contempt or disaffection against” Hong Kong and Beijing.
4.26禁書論 之 「特首證明書」（The April 26 Statement on Banned Books and the Chief Executive Certificate）: Chow Hang-tung's statement on her decision to withdraw her book banning case explains that the HK Chief Executive's "certification" of the books as a national security risk binds the court to a predetermined conclusion, further damaging the rule of law.
‘Truth is very clear’: 4 activists refuse to make arguments in League of Social Democrats street booth trial: The four, three from pro-democracy League of Social Democrats—Chan Po-ying, Dickson Chau and Yu Wai-pan, as well as activist Lee Ying-chi—face a total of 12 counts of collecting money in a public place without a permit and displaying bills or posters on government land without permission.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
State Media Reminds Workers that Labor Rights Are “Granted” by the Party: On International Labor Day, the Chinese Communist Party emphasized the dominance of its party over China’s labor movement and trade unions through its state media.
Sculpture with figures in yellow raincoats will not be reinstalled ‘in situ’ after repair, Hong Kong gov’t says: In Hong Kong, yellow is associated with pro-democracy movements. During the 2019 protests and unrest, a demonstrator wearing a yellow raincoat died after falling from a platform outside a mall, and yellow raincoats subsequently became a protest symbol.
International Responses 国际反应
AL CHN 5/2025: The UN Special Procedures released a recent letter to the Chinese government expressing concern about 8 defenders serving sentences of over 10 years for "defense of human rights and/or exercise of public freedoms," including Ding Jiaxi and Ilham Tohti.
Hong Kong falls to 140th in press freedom index with historic low score, entering ‘red zone’ for first time: Hong Kong has tumbled five places in the 2024 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index, entering the “red zone” for the first time, alongside China.