Top News 头条
The Hong Kong government has rushed through new “subsidiary legislation” aimed at strengthening Article 23, Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law. The new legislation was published on Monday, and took effect this morning. Most alarming, it establishes a mechanism to allow mainland China to exercise jurisdiction over national security cases, pursuant to Article 55 of the 2020 National Security Law, and introduces seven-year prison sentences and fines to anyone who discloses information about OSNS investigations or measures, or provides false or misleading information to the office. It also designates six Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) buildings as “prohibited places.” When questioned, Hong Kong officials claimed that these proposals would not breach rights protected under the Basic Law and international human rights covenants that Hong Kong is party to. However, these vague, sweeping amendments are yet another step towards weakening the rule of law and providing the authorities with unchecked power to shut down dissent.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
INTERSECTIONS | April 24, 2025: A landmark rape case involving an engaged couple ruled that engagement does not create the presumption of sexual consent, a shift which sparked national discussion—despite ongoing censorship of the topic—around women’s rights to their bodies, including hashtags such as “bride price doesn't equal sexual consent.”
Notice on Fully Implementing the Replacement of Proofs of Having No Record of Crimes or Violations with Special Credit Reports: The Chinese authorities have ordered that “No Criminal Record” certificates will be replaced by a special social credit report derived from social credit records aggregated on the Basic Credit Information Sharing Platform, and that local governments should make it easier to access these reports.
Former New Zealand Supreme Court judge set to join Hong Kong’s top court following exodus of foreign justices: William Young, who will be the sixth foreign judge, was a permanent judge at New Zealand’s Supreme Court from 2010 to 2022.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
_China_Chatbot_20: A new report by SpeechMap.ai, a public research platform investigating the boundaries of AI-generated free speech, suggested the latest version of Deepseek’s R1 model is the most censored version yet, as it continues to align increasingly with Party values.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Uncovering Chinese Academic Espionage at Stanford: A new investigation has found that the Chinese Communist Party uses "a full-stack approach to information collection at Stanford and beyond," from impersonation to pressuring Chinese students to share information, report on others, and comply with CCP goals.
Father of wanted Hong Kong activist Anna Kwok denied bail on nat. sec grounds: Kwok Yin-sang has been charged with one count of “attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources belonging to, or owned or controlled by, a relevant absconder,” referring to his daughter, Anna Kwok. Chief Magistrate Victor So ordered Kwok to remain in custody at least until his next court appearance on June 13.
Hong Kong police take in relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay for questioning: Tay’s cousin and the cousin’s wife were brought from their home to a police station last Thursday. Tay has been accused of inciting secession and foreign collusion for operating an advocacy platform called HongKonger Station between July 2020 and June 2024.
Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur service in danger following Trump’s decisions: “Without RFA, China will truly become a black hole for information”: The Uyghur service of Radio Free Asia, which is the world’s only independent Uyghur-language news service, will close at the end of May due to US President Donald Trump’s executive order to cease funding.
Related: Devotion and defiance: Highlights from RFA Tibetan. The Tibet service of Radio Free Asia has highlighted stories of Tibetan resilience, resistance, and achievement for almost three decades, but now also runs the risk of closing due to Trump’s executive order.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Bethel Church in Zhangjiajie: Pastor Zhao Huaiguo Under Continuous Harassment: Zhao has faced ongoing persecution for resisting the pressure to join the government-controlled Three Self Church, including imprisonment in 2020. Now, he and his wife face continuous surveillance and harassment from the police.
Chinese Journalists Grapple With State Intervention, Commercialization, Budget Cuts, and Burnout: The 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders highlights how economic and political pressures have impacted journalism in China, including an increase in editorial interference by the state and declining revenue.
Breaking Beijing's Script: The recent Guizhou boat capsize tragedy has demonstrated how some journalists within China’s tightly controlled media landscape still manage to push beyond boilerplate coverage and introduce more complex perspectives.
Hong Kong man jailed for 1 year over ‘seditious’ online posts targeting police, judges, gov’t: Li Chun-kit was charged in January with “knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention” in connection with 117 posts he shared on Facebook between March 2024 and January 2025. He was sentenced to one year in prison on May 8.
‘Democratic exercise’: Lingnan University Students’ Union vows to press forward despite school pressure: Following intense pressure after the 2019 protests, only three universities in Hong Kong currently have operating students’ unions. In January, Lingnan University asked its Students Union to sign a document that would require it to abide by Hong Kong law, refrain from “any conduct that might damage LU’s reputation,” and allow the school to amend the document without prior consultation, a detail that has prevented the union from signing.
Jailed Hong Kong activist Owen Chow, lawyer lose appeals over prison letter convictions: Chow had given his lawyer Phyllis Woo a complaint letter during a prison visit in May 2023, who then sent it to a government watchdog, the Ombudsman. The judge sided with the government, ruling that “the letter of complaint was not authorised to leave the prison without being subject to security checks by the authorities.”
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China detains small investors who spoke out about a major financial scam: Instead of receiving help, ordinary Chinese investors who lost their money after the collapse of a state-backed financial services group in eastern China’s Shandong province have been detained by authorities for “being used by overseas anti-China forces” because they spoke to foreign media.
Censored Statistics, Deleted Data Muddy the Waters: The recent decline in government transparency and accuracy when it comes to important data, such as that related to foreign investment, unemployment indicators, and air quality, has had a markedly negative impact on understanding the real situation in China.
Related: China touts Labor Day tourism surge, but netizens say otherwise. The Labor Day holiday in China was reported to have a surge in the number of tourists and strong consumer activity, but netizens have taken to Chinese social media to question the accuracy of the data, citing economic pressures and a decline in exports.
Hong Kong pro-China informer: 'Why I've reported dozens of people to police': A self-described “patriot,” Innes Tang tells the BBC about reporting fellow Hong Kong residents to the police and encouraging others to do the same, going so far as to set up a tip line. “‘Does reporting work? We wouldn't do it if it didn't,’ Mr. Tang says. ‘Many had cases opened by the police… with some resulting in jail terms.’”
International Responses 国际反应
Danish anthropologist denied entry to Kazakhstan for criticizing China's repression of Uyghurs: Danish anthropologist Rune Steenberg, who has visited Kazakhstan many times, was refused entry at the Kyrgyz border on April 12. In this interview with Global Voices, Steenberg explained: “I know that people have before been banned from Kazakhstan for writing about Uyghur issues and Xinjiang (such as Gene Bunin, Dilnur Reyhan, and a few others), but I’m not sure that is why I am banned. At the same time, I can’t imagine any other reason they would have done it. I have always respected the time limits of my stay and never violated any laws or regulations in Kazakhstan. So it’s just a qualified guess.”
European Parliament condemns China’s assimilation policy in Tibet, including religious succession interference: The European Parliament adopted a human rights resolution on Tibet which strongly condemned China’s repressive assimilation policies and violations of human rights which seek to eliminate Tibet’s religious and cultural traditions and heritage. It also expressed deep concern regarding the suspicious death of Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Vietnam.
Danish politicians call for government inquiry into transnational repression following China Targets investigation: Lawmakers from the Unity List, the Danish People’s Party, and The Alternative said they want to know how widespread Beijing’s targeting of political dissidents and members of oppressed minorities living in Nordic countries is, and what authorities intend to do about it.