Anti-CCP protesters during Xi Jinping’s Washington visit were met with organized violence; a man at the Chinese consulate in Toronto shoved and threatened peaceful protestors; imprisoned pastor Wang Y...

During Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, DC, protesters critical of Beijing were repeatedly subjected to encirclement, seizure of banners, pepper-spraying, and physical assault, strongly mirroring the...

Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the United States has mobilized protests related to human rights issues in China; journalist Huang Xueqin has been released but likely faces extended surveillance; a new...

Devastating flash floods along the Nepal–Tibet border in late August exposed the human cost of China’s information controls. While more than 1,000 people were confirmed dead and thousands remained mis...

Macau plans to hold a closed-door trial for lawmaker Au Kam San, who has been held incommunicado for a year without access to a lawyer. Also, Chow Hang-tung has been sentenced to seven years and three...

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty last week to his second conviction under the National Security Law with a maximum life sentence; a lawyer who represented Zion Church leaders fled to Taiw...

Devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border last week were met with censorship from the Chinese authorities; Chow Hang-tung was prevented from reading her mitigation statement in court; and ...

This week, artist Gao Zhen was sentenced to three years imprisonment for "infringing on the reputation of heroes and martyrs" over his art, while in Hong Kong, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan were fo...

Last month, China's launch of a new global AI alliance raised concerns about how its political and ideological restrictions may influence AI systems beyond China. Plus, technological advancements prov...

This week, Wise reactivated three bank accounts of Hong Kong activist-in-exile Finn Lau after they were suddenly closed citing “internal policies"; several cases of imprisoned human rights defenders s...

Wuhan activist Zhang Yi has been charged with “inciting separatism” after showing a photograph of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. For his son, Zhang Hongyuan, who lives in the Netherlands, this was not an un...

HRIC faces cyberattacks after being sanctioned by the Chinese government; imprisoned Zion Church pastor Wang Lin published a letter updating his supporters and pointing out the absurdity of the accusa...

Human Rights in China (HRIC) strongly condemns the Chinese government’s decision to sanction our organization. This action is a blatant act of retaliation against entities working to ensure that inter...

Two concerning new laws on exit bans and "online violence" extend the scope of their jurisdiction to include activities carried out outside China, raising fears of transnational repression. And, a pro...

Chinese human rights lawyer Wu Shaoping was detained by ICE last week despite his pending asylum claim; Boston seismologist Youlin Chen has been imprisoned in China since 2024; some U.S. sanctions on ...

In June, we revisit China’s increasing restrictions on VPNs to examine how suppressing access to information leads to historical amnesia. While the Great Firewall has been met with admirable resistanc...

Several Chinese dissidents detained in Thailand are at serious risk of imminent deportation to China; commemorations of Liu Xiaobo were held in cities around the globe; and Chinese lawyers continue to...

On the 11th anniversary of the 709 Crackdown on Chinese human rights lawyers and defenders, Zhang Kai and Yu Kai have been selected as the 2026 recipients of the Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Award.

On the eve of the eleventh anniversary of the “709” crackdown, Asian Lawyers Network (ALN) has released a new Report on the Rights and Conditions of Civil and Commercial Lawyers in China. The report f...

On July 2, Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen lit himself on fire in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York, calling for Tibetan freedom and independence. He tragically passed away shortly a...

Chinese dissident Dong Guangping has reached Canada after fleeing by boat to South Korea; the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit accusing Cisco Systems of helping China persecute Falun Gong practi...

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts may not hear human rights claims under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), and that aiding-and-abetting claims are not actionable under the Tortu...

This report covers the period from January 1 to April 30, 2026 and documents the multiple difficulties faced by Chinese lawyers in the course of their practice, including administrative suppression, o...

Nine members of Beijing's Zion Church have been released on bail, but the nine remaining, including founding pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, now face charges of “illegal business operations” and “fraud"; a fo...

In May, new reporting emerged on tools being developed by Chinese private companies for government surveillance, data collection, and analysis, and even predicting future behavior. AI-powered harassme...

A U.S. academic was arrested for "espionage" in Beijing this week while attending a conference; a University of Colorado PHD student went missing two years ago in China; the international community re...

Human Rights in China (HRIC) is deeply concerned about the ongoing disappearance of internet censorship researcher Yiyan Wang (also known as Gaukas Wang) and calls on the Chinese government to immedia...

Apple Peiqing Ni targeted by account portraying her as promiscuous drug addict after posting about Tiananmen Square

Last week, the 37th anniversary of the June Fourth Tiananmen Massacre was met by commemoration activities, statements, and continued repression and censorship from the CCP authorities. In Chongqing, p...

Civil society around the world came together this week to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre; the June Fourth Museum in LA was vandalized; China expelled a NYT journalist; and ...

On May 30, in Toronto, HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo spoke at an event commemorating the 37th anniversary of the June Fourth Tiananmen Massacre. "June Fourth belongs not only to the past, but t...

In June 1989, only a few days after June Fourth, the residents of Wrocław, Poland, built a memorial to the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre. Investigating this memorial uncovered a story of solidarit...

On the 37th anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre, the Tiananmen Mothers have issued a commemorative statement, calling for justice on behalf of the victims and families of those harmed.

Human rights defender Dong Guangping fled China by boat to South Korea; China has imposed travel restrictions on top AI talent; closing arguments began for Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan; and more.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Zhang Xinyan has been arrested in Thailand and is in danger of extradition; rights groups push Trump to bring up human rights in his meeting with Xi; Lu Jianwang faces...

RightsCon was canceled abruptly last week due to Chinese government pressure; a new press freedom report ranks China and Hong Kong near the bottom of the list worldwide; Japan-based professor Yuan Keq...

Chinese student Cheng Fangwei from the University of Sydney in Australia disappeared after returning to China at the end of 2024. Cheng had participated in pro-democracy protests in Sydney, including ...

This week, rights advocates faced harsh and unjust legal penalties for engaging in protected speech and peaceful protest. Two cases in particular exemplify the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities’ paral...

HRIC remembers Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Koo Sze-yiu, who passed away last week; human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng has completed his sentence; HRIC published a new interview with co-chair of the ...

Online censorship continues with the removal of the Bitchat app from China's app store for its "social mobilization" capabilities; workers' rights activist Jing Shuren scheduled for pre-trial conferen...

Human rights lawyer Xie Yang was sentenced to five years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power"; artist Gao Zhen was tried in a secret one-day hearing; and two individuals in Hubei were fi...

A new law in Macau allows national security cases to be heard behind closed doors and requires lawyers to pass a national security clearance; Hong Kong suggests mandating national security suspects tu...

On March 9th, 2026, Human Rights in China (HRIC) hosted a panel discussion featuring four esteemed panelists from three generations of activists. The panel was organized in collaboration with Universi...

Imprisoned democracy advocate Chow Hang-tung challenged the use of the Chinese constitution in Hong Kong courts; a 21-year-old was arrested for carrying laser pointers in 2019; the UN human rights chi...

China's “Two Sessions” will wrap up this Thursday; a new strategy for transnational digital censorship known as “algorithmic encirclement” exploits X's rules to target anti-CCP accounts; Italy has exp...

In Hong Kong, two retirees were given prison sentences for posting or sharing "seditious" posts on social media encouraging others not to vote, while Kwok Yin-sang was sentenced to eight months in pri...

Last week, HRIC held a colloquium on strategy and capacity-building for Chinese-language independent media at Stanford University. The event was an opportunity for experts on media, tech, and innovati...

A Hong Kong court rejected 12 appeals in the "Hong Kong 47" case; investigative journalists Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao were released on bail; suspected Chinese hackers breached the Italian Interior Minist...

Last week, Alysa Liu’s Olympic performance sparked an outpouring of positive commentary, both for her skill on the ice and for the history her story represents. On social media platforms, many young C...