HRIC Weekly Brief
July 7, 2023
Top News 头条
Digital security and access to a free and open Internet are central tenets of the work of new Hong Kong diaspora media outlets and journalists in diaspora and/or exile. On June 26, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ms. Irene Khan, presented her latest report on journalists in exile at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council. HRIC's submission to the Rapporteur examined the detrimental impact of Hong Kong's National Security Law (NSL) on the digital rights and Internet freedoms of Hong Kong journalists in diaspora and/or exile, through insider perspectives. We interviewed Alric Lee, co-founder of Lady Liberty Hong Kong, a unique new Hong Kong diaspora media outlet that started off as an art project and evolved into a non-mainstream news outlet and an innovative human rights project, and Finn Lau, Executive Director of The Points, one of the most active and well-regarded new Hong Kong diaspora media outlets founded by Hong Kong journalists and based entirely overseas. HRIC has also created infographics on Hong Kong Journalists in Exile in both English and Chinese.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Long-awaited Chinese policy update presents no major shift: Instead of any major structural shifts, the plenum reasserted Xi’s quest for "new productive forces" that envisions scientific research and technological upgrades of China’s sprawling industrial complex.
Related: China to raise retirement age as population gets older. China looks set to gradually raise its statutory retirement age in the next five years in a bid to address its rapidly aging population and substantial pension system.
Draft Standards for Personal Information Protection Compliance Audits – Key Guidelines for Companies: Chinese authorities have released draft standards laying out requirements for companies who process personal information to comply with required audits, implementing the country’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) enacted in 2021.
China’s New Ethical Guidelines for Human Genome Editing Research: The new guidelines prohibit clinical research involving germline genome editing, aimed at preventing inheritable genetic modifications.
Beneath the Harbor: Hong Kong's Leading Role in Sanctions Evasion: A new report by Samuel Bickett and the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation uncovers how Hong Kong companies have been helping Russia, Iran, and North Korea evade global sanctions with the tacit blessing of the Hong Kong government.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
‘Garbage time of history’: Chinese state media pushes back on claims country has entered a new epoch: A new meme that is making rounds on the Chinese internet, “garbage time of history,” refers to the economic downturn of China, as the country’s government and state media attempt to reverse public disappointment and negativity.
Censors Delete Question About Murdered Schoolbus Hero: “It’s Been 22 Days. Who Killed Hu Youping?”: Chinese authorities removed an essay that questions who killed the bus driver, Hu Youping, who was widely honored after dying to save a Japanese woman and her child from an assailant with a knife. China Digital Times provides a full translation of the essay.
China vs. World: Cybersecurity Reporting Duel: In response to reports released by Western cybersecurity agencies regarding Chinese cyber activities, China in return writes its own reports on U.S. activities.
Hongkongers may use QR code and biometrics for Macau immigration clearance: The Immigration Department announces that travelers between Hong Kong and Macau will now use quick-response (QR) codes and fingerprints to enter the regions for efficiency and “increased happiness.”
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Chinese Diaspora Voices Fight Harassment and Find Room for Expression: Chinese diaspora abroad build community and expand their political horizons through activism, comedy, and more.
Related: A Young Chinese Dissident Finds a Less Lonely Life in Exile.
CCP-Linked Professional Associations in France Facilitate Tech Transfer, Political Influence: René Bigey, a retired China analyst, explains how the CCP attempts to influence French politics and facilitate technological transfers to China through professional associations that take advantage of isolated Chinese communities abroad to fight “misconceptions” about China.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
A top Chinese university fires a professor after a student accused him of sexual harassment: In China, public accusations of sexual harassment are rare, despite a brief #MeToo movement that authorities were quick to clamp down and censor. Graduate student Wang Di’s brave public allegation, and the swift response that followed, is a break from the pattern. Her original video has been removed, replaced by a post praising the school’s “swift handling and uncompromising attitude.”
Wall Street Journal Fires Journalist Elected as Chair of HK Press Freedom Group: Wall Street Journal fires its American reporter Selina Cheng for being elected chair of the Hong Kong Journalist Association, a Hong Kong-based union that is under fire by the authorities in Beijing. She was told by her employer to drop out of the chair elections, but had refused, leading to her termination under the pretext of restructuring.
Related: Code of Silence. International media, nominally committed to liberal principles, have been pressuring Hong Kong journalists to steer clear of the Hong Kong Journalist Association or risk losing their jobs.
Hong Kong 47: Mitigation hearings for national security case delayed by a month due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’: Most of the democrats involved in the case have been detained for more than three years since February 2021, when they were taken into police custody.
Hong Kong student charged with unlawful assembly over shopping mall protest 4 years ago: 20 year-old Isaac Lee was suspected of involvement in a “sing with you” demonstration on June 30, 2020, the day the National Security Law was promulgated.
Hong Kong man found guilty of insulting Chinese anthem at volleyball game: Chan Pak-yui had covered his ears and sang “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables while the Chinese anthem was being played at an international volleyball match last June.
12 Hongkongers jailed for up to 3 years and 4 months over rioting linked to 2019 PolyU siege: They had been arrested after calls appeared online to “rescue” protesters inside the university, which was a protest site, by staging protests in nearby areas in a bid to divert policing efforts.
Over 80% of Hongkongers think criticism of gov’t should be allowed, survey finds: The questionnaire by US think tank Pew Research Center surveyed approximately 2,000 people from Hong Kong.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China slaps travel restrictions on teachers, banking sector staff: Authorities are targeting teachers and students who may be thinking of leaving China to tour overseas universities or to settle into their new homes ahead of a course of overseas study.
When party propaganda falls flat: Xi has encouraged the revival of Mao-era propaganda performance troupes, Ulan Muqir, to put on shows across Inner Mongolia. However, the troupes, which sing in Mandarin, are not popular with the locals.
Hong Kong Book Fair exhibitors told to remove certain titles after ‘complaints’: Removed titles include “The Last Faith” by local reporter Allan Au and a book of stories of Hong Kong children who emigrated.
Related: ‘We don’t know where the line is’: More titles removed from Hong Kong Book Fair after complaints. Exhibitors must comply with Exhibitors’ Manual and Rules & Regulations, as well as all Hong Kong laws, including the National Security Law and Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
Exiled pro-democracy Hong Kong activists blocked from accessing pensions: There are concerns that western financial institutions have been complying with Chinese authorities in persecuting critics via financial means.
International Responses 国际反应
New top US envoy to Taiwan pledges to help the island with self-defense as threats from China loom: Last Thursday alone, Taiwan tracked 66 Chinese warplanes and 7 warships around its waters across a 24-hour period.
Current Events 热点新闻
‘Society doesn’t want my kids’: China’s single women forced abroad to freeze their eggs: A growing generation of educated, urban women who are delaying marriage and motherhood by going overseas to freeze their eggs—a procedure not allowed for single, healthy women in China—are seen by China’s leadership as antithetical to authorities’ efforts to boost dropping birth rates.