HRIC Weekly Brief
February 27, 2024
Top News 头条
A data leak from Chinese cybersecurity contractor Anxun, or I-Soon, has provided a peek into the shocking inner world of Chinese hackers-for-hire. The documents spawned a wealth of revelations, including victims that featured a number of foreign governments, including India, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea, and prolific international organizations such as Chatham House and Amnesty International. The tools I-Soon marketed to the Chinese government included tech with the ability to access Twitter and email accounts that could bypass dual authentication, and indicated that the tools had been used to target overseas activists. One IP address revealed in the documents was linked to a phishing site used in 2019 to target Uyghur activists, called Poison Carp. Meanwhile, I-Soon bid on “counterterrorism” work in Xinjiang, targeting Uyghur minorities. In light of these revelations, two well-known overseas dissidents warned their followers that the Chinese government was targeting those who followed them on social media, which has allegedly led to several arrests. Rather than respond to the leak directly, Beijing issued a call for increased protections against cyberattacks from other countries, including the United States, aimed at domestic companies.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Article 23: New domestic security law may affect regular news reporting, says Hong Kong press group: The Hong Kong Journalists Association expressed concern that the new Article 23 national security law defines “state secrets” too broadly and “foreign forces” too vaguely, thus putting journalists at risk.
Hong Kong to consider barring early-release prisoners from leaving city, corrections chief says: Following the recent flight from the city of several high-profile activists, including Tony Chung, Hong Kong is considering banning travel for those released from jail on “supervision.”
Hong Kong gov’t given chance to take fight against same-sex couples’ housing, inheritance rights to top court: The Hong Kong government has obtained approval to appeal a court decision that gave same-sex couples housing rights equivalent to straight couples, a stance that the government has opposed.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Report Outlines Mechanisms of China's Censorship Apparatus: According to a new report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the “PRC has exported censorship tools to other authoritarian states while also advancing its preferred vision of ‘cyber sovereignty’.”
Generative AI and elections are key focus for hackers in 2024, report warns: A new report from CrowdStrike found that the speed of cyberattacks has increased, as AI tools such as ChatGPT are used to increase hackers’ work capacity. Furthermore, it warned that China is likely to use generative AI to target elections in countries such as Indonesia, that it sees as within its “sphere of influence.”
Google’s retiring of Internet archiving tool draws ire of China researchers: Google’s cached page function, a critical tool for researchers to keep track of censored information on the Chinese internet, has been discontinued.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
China says it aims to 'contain' foreign interference over Taiwan this year: Last week, Beijing held a two-day meeting on “Taiwan-related work” which includes combatting Taiwanese independence and “containing” what it calls “interference from external forces.”
Related: Decoding China: Inevitable Taiwan tensions in 2024.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Police interrogate and beat Tibetans arrested in dam protest: In Tibet, more than a thousand peaceful demonstrators have been detained by the authorities for protesting the construction of the Gangtuo hydropower dam, which will submerge multiple communities and a monastery famous for its murals dating back to the 13th century. Reportedly, many of the demonstrators were beaten severely.
Yang Hengjun will not appeal suspended death sentence in China, family says: Yang Hengjun, Australian writer facing a suspended death sentence for alleged espionage, has decided not to pursue an appeal for the sake of his health, says his family. “Commencing an appeal would only delay the possibility of adequate and supervised medical care, after five years of inhumane treatment and abject medical neglect.”
Related: Australian Writer’s Case Highlights Risks Foreigners Face in China.
Shanghai director set to face trial over 'white paper' protest film: In Shanghai, filmmaker Chen Pinlin has been charged with "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” for creating and posting a documentary on the White Paper Movement in Shanghai, titled “Not the Foreign Force” (in Chinese, the title is “Urumqi Road”).
Wife of jailed free speech activist Wang Aizhong on 'no fly' list: Wang Henan, flight attendant and wife of jailed dissident Wang Aizhong, says her employer, Shenzhen Airlines, has grounded her in retaliation for her husband’s actions and is trying to force her to quit.
‘Little by little, the truth is being discovered’: the archive rescuing China’s forbidden films: In China, the CCP “views any kinds of narrative expression with suspicion.” A UK-based archive has taken on the task of preserving Chinese indie films after film festivals across China have been forced to close under pressure from the authorities.
7 veteran Hong Kong democrats launch bid to appeal unauthorised assembly convictions linked to 2019 demo: Seven Hong Kong veteran activists are appealing their unauthorized assembly convictions on grounds that the ban on the assembly itself was unconstitutional.
Hong Kong pro-democracy cafe fined HK$3,500 for toilet stains after owners complained of weekly inspections: In another example of targeted harassment of pro-democracy spaces, pro-democracy café Not One Less Coffee has announced its closure after weekly inspections and fines for a ceiling stain in the restroom scared away customers.
International Responses 国际反应
US Congress members praise Taiwan’s democracy in a visit that’s certain to draw China’s scrutiny: A group of U.S. Congress members, including Representative Mike Gallagher, visited Taiwan last week and met with President Tsai Ing-wen to reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwanese democracy.
Related: China demands the US stop any official contact with Taiwan following a congressional visit.
Turkey detains six suspected of spying on Uyghurs for China: Turkey has arrested six people, and is seeking a seventh, in connection with suspected surveillance and espionage efforts aimed at Uyghurs on behalf of the Chinese government.