HRIC Weekly Brief
March 25, 2025
Top News 头条
As Muslims around the world observe Ramadan from February 28 to March 29, fasting from dawn and dusk, Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are forcing Uyghurs to work to prevent them from fasting and praying. The move is part of an effort to ban religious practices among Muslim Uyghurs who live in Xinjiang, amid China’s wider, systematic persecution of Uyghurs and their culture. Chinese officials have even ordered Uyghurs in Xinjiang to send video proof that they are not fasting, sparking global outrage.
In other news: for Chinese dissidents abroad, a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court based on a judgment in China is part of a growing trend: the use of U.S. courts to seek penalties against dissidents like Ma Ju, even as Washington warns of efforts by the CCP to extend its reach into other countries. In the meantime, real estate businessman Quanzhong An, who aided a Chinese effort to pressure individuals living in the United States to return to China, has been sentenced by a U.S. court to over a year in prison for acting as an illegal foreign agent. An’s efforts to force these individuals’ repatriation to China were part of the Chinese government’s “Operation Fox Hunt,” which Beijing says is about pursuing people who have fled justice, but which many see as another method of transnational repression.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Security Management Measures for the Application of Facial Recognition Technology: New regulations due to come into effect on June 1 state that the use of facial recognition identification should not be mandatory. However, the regulations seem to apply to private entities using facial recognition, and do not apply to research, development, or algorithm training activities.
Hong Kong introduces new Cybersecurity Law, raising surveillance concerns: The new law empowers the Hong Kong government to seek a court warrant to connect to computer systems, or install programs onto “critical infrastructure systems” including information technology, financial services, and telecommunications and broadcasting services.
Related: Hong Kong passes cybersecurity law covering ‘critical infrastructure’. Tech firms and the U.S. business chamber warned of a “chilling effect” on tech investment in Hong Kong.
The obscure Jimmy Lai ruling that exposed the erosion of Hong Kong’s rule of law: At the heart of Lai’s appeal over his choice of lawyer is the controversial principle that decisions made by the national security committee cannot be legally challenged.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
China's AI Content Dragnet: Through data linked to Baidu, research has uncovered how China has been using AI to automate the surveillance of online discourse, where a classification system prioritizes military, social, and political content.
Reports on Job Ads and Opinion Surveys Open Windows Into China’s Online Censorship: A new report by the Open Technology Fund explores the growing demand for human-powered censorship in China, where the bulk of censorship implementation remains a low-skilled, low-paid, and labor-intensive task performed by human workers in the private sector.
Hong Kong ‘monitoring social media’ under year-old security law: The Hong Kong police, via Article 23, are increasingly monitoring people’s social media interactions and targeting online speech, even from those outside of Hong Kong.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
‘Disgusting’ antisemitic tactics used to threaten exiled Hong Kong man in Adelaide, Jewish group says: Ted Hui and Kevin Yam were both subjects of anonymous letters and pamphlets that were mailed from Chinese-controlled territories.
Related: Fake pamphlets accusing former Hong Kong legislator of being a pro-Israel lawyer sent to Adelaide mosques. Ted Hui was accused of being a pro-Israel lawyer willing to “wage war” against Islamic terrorism. The materials were allegedly mailed to mosques in Adelaide in an apparent attempt to intimidate Hui and encourage residents to turn against him.
Fear grows among US’s 390,000 undocumented Chinese immigrants: ‘So many policies have changed’: The new administration’s clear willingness to deport Chinese migrants has instilled an unprecedented level of fear and anxiety in Chinese immigrant communities, many of whom came to the United States seeking freedom from government persecution.
Inside the CCP-Funded Travel Groups Looking to Influence Taiwanese: Such “free” trips come with an implicit cost: participants unwittingly become propaganda tools. Images and testimonials praising China are showcased in state-run media, crafting an image of Taiwanese young adults enamored with China.
Trump’s shuttering of global media agency endangers reporters, staff say: Foreign workers at US government-backed media outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia that have faced funding cuts by the Trump administration say they face deportation to their home countries, where some risk imprisonment or death at the hands of authoritarian governments.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Police in China’s Anhui detain 2 Christians for ‘cult’ activities: China has detained two members of a Protestant church over their refusal to join a government-backed body, accusing them of “using cult activities to endanger society.”
HRIC on Twitter/X: Prolific Jiangxi rights activist Liu Ping was illegally intercepted by nearly 60 plainclothes officers at Nanchang Railway Station. Previously, on February 24, she was also prohibited from going out because of the commencement of the Two Sessions.
A River Crisis Prompts Rare Coverage: In a rare move, Chinese media outlets have reported on an environmental crisis unfolding in Hunan, where abnormal concentrations of thallium have reportedly prompted the city to activate a Level IV emergency response, and residents are stockpiling drinking water.
Why March is a sensitive month for Tibetans: Important events and acts of Tibetan resistance have occurred during March, starting with the March 10, 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
INTERSECTIONS | March 21, 2025: State media narratives on International Women’s Day were more focused on patronizing women than celebrating their contributions.
Hong Kong man jailed for 3 years and 9 months for rioting in 2019 after returning to city from Japan: Despite not being charged in 2019, Chan Wai-yiu, who was 21 at the time of offense, had been re-arrested in 2023 when he returned to Hong Kong to visit his sick mother.
Hong Kong appeal court upholds acquittal of Democratic Party chair in 2019 protest case: Three Court of Appeal justices upheld Lo Kin-hei’s acquittal. Prosecutors had argued that the District Judge made errors in 2022, when he cleared Lo of taking part in an unlawful assembly.
Ex-lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting files bid to appeal against rioting conviction and jail term linked to 2019 Yuen Long attack: Five of the seven defendants sentenced last month have lodged an appeal against the court ruling and jail sentences, including Lam and three others who submitted their applications last week.
Fugitive activist Tony Chung’s stepfather questioned by Hong Kong nat. sec police: Chung’s stepfather was taken in to “assist in the investigation” of Chung’s suspected offenses, including “inciting secession” and “colluding with external forces to endanger national security.”
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China releases staff of an American due diligence firm in a move to woo investors: China has freed five Mintz Group employees, all of whom are Chinese nationals detained since 2023, in an apparent effort to win over foreign firms as investment from overseas tumbles. Mintz had been fined, and its employees detained, for conducting “unauthorized statistical investigations.”
Freedoms wither in Hong Kong: One year after the enactment of Article 23, Hong Kong citizens whose rights have been under attack for more than a decade find themselves even further away from democracy.
International Responses 国际反应
Thai officials secretly planned to deport Uyghurs while making repeated public denials: In the wake of this revelation, Thai lawmakers expressed outrage and demanded answers. The Thai parliament’s national security committee also held an inquiry and called for footage of the deportation to be released.
Related: Journalists visiting deported Uyghurs in Xinjiang face Chinese surveillance. Chinese officials escorted Thai journalists during a tightly controlled visit to Xinjiang this week, insisting on viewing their photos and deleting any that did not meet approval before they could be sent back to Thailand.
President Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress: In a deeply concerning blow to digital rights and freedom of information, the Trump administration terminated funding to the Open Technology Fund (OTF), which has helped millions of Chinese users counter the Great Firewall and access the open Internet.