Human Rights in China
@hrichina.bsky.social
Founded in March 1989, HRIC is dedicated to promoting international human rights and advancing the institutional protection of these rights in #China.
“FreeWeChat,” a project that archives "sensitive" WeChat content that has been censored by the Chinese government, was shut down by Florida-based cloud hosting company Vultr last month in compliance with a demand from Tencent, submitted via a proxy. en.greatfire.org/blog/2025/de...
Tencent enlisting American cloud hosting providers to enforce censorship
The Chinese company Tencent has used the American cloud hosting company Vultr to censor FreeWeChat around the world.
en.greatfire.org
December 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM
“FreeWeChat,” a project that archives "sensitive" WeChat content that has been censored by the Chinese government, was shut down by Florida-based cloud hosting company Vultr last month in compliance with a demand from Tencent, submitted via a proxy. en.greatfire.org/blog/2025/de...
In September 2025, journalist Zhang Zhan was unjustly sentenced to another four years in prison for her work defending human rights. HRIC has translated the full text of her judgment and sentencing, now publicly available for the first time, into English:
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Zhang Zhan Judgment Accuses Her of "Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble"
HRIC has translated the 2025 judgment and sentencing of Zhang Zhan, lawyer-journalist imprisoned for covering the COVID-19 pandemic, into English.
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:40 PM
In September 2025, journalist Zhang Zhan was unjustly sentenced to another four years in prison for her work defending human rights. HRIC has translated the full text of her judgment and sentencing, now publicly available for the first time, into English:
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Three years after a fire in Urumqi claimed at least ten lives, Hong Kong suffered a terrible tragedy this week as at least 156 were killed in a fire in Tai Po. HK authorities cracked down on calls for accountability in the name of "national security." open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
Three years after the deadly Urumqi fire claimed at least ten lives and sparked a global movement, Hong Kong suffered another terrible tragedy this week as at least 156 were killed in a housing fire i...
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Three years after a fire in Urumqi claimed at least ten lives, Hong Kong suffered a terrible tragedy this week as at least 156 were killed in a fire in Tai Po. HK authorities cracked down on calls for accountability in the name of "national security." open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
The complete trial of Major General Xu Qinxian regarding the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests was exposed online where he stated “students were mixed with the public,” insisted on using political means, and refused to sign the troop deployment order.
Read more: hrichina.substack.com/p/trial-tran...
Read more: hrichina.substack.com/p/trial-tran...
November 28, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The complete trial of Major General Xu Qinxian regarding the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests was exposed online where he stated “students were mixed with the public,” insisted on using political means, and refused to sign the troop deployment order.
Read more: hrichina.substack.com/p/trial-tran...
Read more: hrichina.substack.com/p/trial-tran...
Personal X accounts promoting Chinese culture and defending official positions were found to have IPs located within China. Since China has banned the X platform, these accounts are likely operated by official CCP institutions or authorized propaganda organizations.
See more: x.com/hrichina/sta...
See more: x.com/hrichina/sta...
x.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Personal X accounts promoting Chinese culture and defending official positions were found to have IPs located within China. Since China has banned the X platform, these accounts are likely operated by official CCP institutions or authorized propaganda organizations.
See more: x.com/hrichina/sta...
See more: x.com/hrichina/sta...
Chinese scientists have published a stimulation study on the technical feasibility of Starlink across a region as large as Taiwan, indicating that China is systematically making technical preparations to attack Taiwan, especially valuing communication as an important tactical objective.
November 24, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Chinese scientists have published a stimulation study on the technical feasibility of Starlink across a region as large as Taiwan, indicating that China is systematically making technical preparations to attack Taiwan, especially valuing communication as an important tactical objective.
This week's top news: Journalist Dong Yuyu's 7-year sentence was upheld; Anthropic reports an "autonomous" Chinese hacking campaign used their AI tool Claude; Germany deported a Uyghur woman to China against official policy; and more in the Weekly Brief. open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
China’s National Journalists’ Day brought mixed feelings among China’s independent journalists, who continue to mourn the decline of investigative reporting in the country; journalist Dong Yuyu's 7-ye...
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:46 PM
This week's top news: Journalist Dong Yuyu's 7-year sentence was upheld; Anthropic reports an "autonomous" Chinese hacking campaign used their AI tool Claude; Germany deported a Uyghur woman to China against official policy; and more in the Weekly Brief. open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
A NYC film festival was canceled over transnational repression; the UK, Denmark, and Norway investigate whether Chinese-made buses can be controlled remotely; Apple pulled LGBT+ apps on the orders of the Chinese government; and more in the Weekly Brief. open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
A New York film festival was canceled over transnational repression; the UK, Denmark, and Norway will investigate whether hundreds of Chinese-made buses can be controlled remotely; Apple removed LGBT+...
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:08 PM
A NYC film festival was canceled over transnational repression; the UK, Denmark, and Norway investigate whether Chinese-made buses can be controlled remotely; Apple pulled LGBT+ apps on the orders of the Chinese government; and more in the Weekly Brief. open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
On October 27, HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo spoke at FIDH's 42nd Congress in Bogotá, Colombia. His comments addressed the duality of cyberspace in China as "both an authoritarian weapon and a democratic lifeline." Read the full speech here:
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
China, Surveillance, and Civil Society in
Cyberspace
On October 27, HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo spoke at the 42nd Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights in Bogotá, Colombia. His comments addressed the duality of cyberspace in...
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:05 AM
On October 27, HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo spoke at FIDH's 42nd Congress in Bogotá, Colombia. His comments addressed the duality of cyberspace in China as "both an authoritarian weapon and a democratic lifeline." Read the full speech here:
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Now translated into English by HRIC, journalist Jiang Xue tells the story of China's human rights lawyers who challenged the legal system, fought alongside civil society, and ventured into the forbidden realm of political and faith-related cases. Read: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Twenty Years of China’s Human Rights Lawyers: Walking the Straight Path, Keeping the Flame of Rule of Law Alive
In the years when civic consciousness blossomed and rights defense movements began to emerge, China’s human rights lawyers stepped into the spotlight. Through individual cases, they challenged the exi...
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Now translated into English by HRIC, journalist Jiang Xue tells the story of China's human rights lawyers who challenged the legal system, fought alongside civil society, and ventured into the forbidden realm of political and faith-related cases. Read: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
New York's IndieChina Film Festival, scheduled for November 8-15, has been abruptly cancelled over safety concerns. The Chinese authorities had targeted participants and even the organizer's friends and family with harassment and threats. Read the official statement: indiechina.org/%e5%85%b3%e4...
November 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
New York's IndieChina Film Festival, scheduled for November 8-15, has been abruptly cancelled over safety concerns. The Chinese authorities had targeted participants and even the organizer's friends and family with harassment and threats. Read the official statement: indiechina.org/%e5%85%b3%e4...
The Weekly Brief: the CCP cracks down on Halloween, mass protests in Hainan reflect longstanding resentments over the restructuring of Hainan's farm system, and two Hong Kong teenagers plead guilty to sedition/secession over their online activities. Read: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
On October 31, police deployed across China to prevent people from wearing Halloween costumes, while a mass protest broke out in Hainan over conflicts with Hainan Natural Rubber Industry Group, reflec...
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The Weekly Brief: the CCP cracks down on Halloween, mass protests in Hainan reflect longstanding resentments over the restructuring of Hainan's farm system, and two Hong Kong teenagers plead guilty to sedition/secession over their online activities. Read: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
China's Fourth Plenum was accompanied by offline and online protests; China expands its censorship efforts globally by pressuring third-party service providers; Chikungunya measures in Guangdong were met with backlash over government overreach, and more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
China's Fourth Plenum was accompanied by offline and online protests; China expands its censorship efforts across the global internet by pressuring third-party service providers; and the Public Health...
open.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:03 AM
China's Fourth Plenum was accompanied by offline and online protests; China expands its censorship efforts globally by pressuring third-party service providers; Chikungunya measures in Guangdong were met with backlash over government overreach, and more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
On October 25, 2025, just after CCP’s Fourth Plenum, a brave protester hung two banners in Beijing's Sanlitun district, denouncing the CCP and calling for freedom, humanity, and rule of law. Signed “pque2025,” it deliberately echoed Peng Lifa’s 2022 Sitong Bridge protest.
October 27, 2025 at 11:28 PM
On October 25, 2025, just after CCP’s Fourth Plenum, a brave protester hung two banners in Beijing's Sanlitun district, denouncing the CCP and calling for freedom, humanity, and rule of law. Signed “pque2025,” it deliberately echoed Peng Lifa’s 2022 Sitong Bridge protest.
The int'l community calls for the release of Swedish publisher Gui Minhai, 10 years after his abduction to China from Thailand; a new report finds that there has been little progress in the last 5 years towards abolishing the death penalty in Asia; and more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
The ten-year anniversary of Swedish publisher Gui Minhai's abduction at the hands of the Chinese authorities has been met with a global call for his release; a new report finds that “over the past fiv...
open.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
The int'l community calls for the release of Swedish publisher Gui Minhai, 10 years after his abduction to China from Thailand; a new report finds that there has been little progress in the last 5 years towards abolishing the death penalty in Asia; and more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
The Weekly Brief: Chinese authorities launched a nationwide crackdown against Zion Church; a lawyer urges consideration for female prisoners' rights; Lu Siwei has been diagnosed with lung cancer; and OpenAI says China is using ChatGPT for "authoritarian abuses." open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
Last Thursday, Chinese authorities launched a coordinated nationwide crackdown against Zion Church (锡安教会), one of China’s most prominent unregistered “house churches," with over 30 detained; a lawyer ...
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 10:06 PM
The Weekly Brief: Chinese authorities launched a nationwide crackdown against Zion Church; a lawyer urges consideration for female prisoners' rights; Lu Siwei has been diagnosed with lung cancer; and OpenAI says China is using ChatGPT for "authoritarian abuses." open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Lu Miaoqing, a female lawyer from Guangdong, has submitted a formal proposal urging Chinese lawmakers to incorporate gender sensitivity and substantive equality into the ongoing revision of the Prison Law of the People’s Republic of China. Read more here:
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
China’s Prison Law Revision Criticized for Overlooking Women Prisoners’ Rights — Female Lawyer Urges Gender Equality Measures
《监狱法》修订草案被指忽视女犯权益，女律师建议加强性别平等
open.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Lu Miaoqing, a female lawyer from Guangdong, has submitted a formal proposal urging Chinese lawmakers to incorporate gender sensitivity and substantive equality into the ongoing revision of the Prison Law of the People’s Republic of China. Read more here:
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
On the eve of World Mental Health Day, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders Families Network has released the first comprehensive research report revealing the profound psychological trauma suffered by the children of human rights defenders. Access in full here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Report on the Psychological Trauma of Children of Human Rights Defenders Under State Violence Released
《被连坐的童年：国家暴力下的人权捍卫者子女心理创伤研究报告》发布
open.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 5:06 PM
On the eve of World Mental Health Day, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders Families Network has released the first comprehensive research report revealing the profound psychological trauma suffered by the children of human rights defenders. Access in full here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
The PRC's 76th National Day was met with protests abroad while Tibet and Xinjiang experienced tightened controls, exiles in SE Asia fear Beijing's transnational reach, and women's rights content was censored ahead of the Global Women's Summit in Beijing: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
The PRC's 76th National Day was met with protests abroad while Tibet and Xinjiang experienced tightened controls and Xi reiterated a hard line against Taiwanese independence. Also: exiled dissidents i...
open.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The PRC's 76th National Day was met with protests abroad while Tibet and Xinjiang experienced tightened controls, exiles in SE Asia fear Beijing's transnational reach, and women's rights content was censored ahead of the Global Women's Summit in Beijing: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
The Weekly Brief: Xi promotes "social stability" in Xinjiang, the 11th anniversary of the Umbrella Movement received small commemorations in Hong Kong, and HK activist Nathan Law was denied entry to Singapore over "national interests." Read here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
Last week, Xi Jinping's visit to Xinjiang presented an image of harmony and stability even as Beijing faces grave international accusations of abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. Also:...
open.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 7:19 PM
The Weekly Brief: Xi promotes "social stability" in Xinjiang, the 11th anniversary of the Umbrella Movement received small commemorations in Hong Kong, and HK activist Nathan Law was denied entry to Singapore over "national interests." Read here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been sentenced to four more years in prison in a closed-door trial; 22yo Zhang Yadi has been charged with "inciting separatism"; and Beijing launches the world’s first prototype “Satellite Internet Firewall." Read more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been sentenced to four more years in prison in a closed-door trial, reportedly over her social media posts; 22yo student Zhang Yadi has been charged with "inciting se...
open.substack.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been sentenced to four more years in prison in a closed-door trial; 22yo Zhang Yadi has been charged with "inciting separatism"; and Beijing launches the world’s first prototype “Satellite Internet Firewall." Read more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
“I am a brave person," Zhang Yadi wrote. Before she was detained in Yunnan this July on charges of "inciting separatism," 22-year-old Zhang was a prolific writer and multilingual advocate for Tibetan and Chinese rights. Read HRIC's in-depth profile here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
“I Am a Brave Person”—Zhang Yadi: From Political Depression to the Path of Freedom and Truth
She walked through fear, speaking into the silence. Every time she opened a blank page, each word she wrote was like lighting a lamp in the night. On this narrow and difficult path, Zhang Yadi found t...
open.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 6:06 PM
“I am a brave person," Zhang Yadi wrote. Before she was detained in Yunnan this July on charges of "inciting separatism," 22-year-old Zhang was a prolific writer and multilingual advocate for Tibetan and Chinese rights. Read HRIC's in-depth profile here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Lawyer Jiang Tianyong has been abruptly detained; leaks exposed the inner workings of the Chinese censorship and surveillance system; dissident Wang Yuping was forcibly hospitalized; China is piloting "village surveillance" in the Solomon Islands, and much more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
Human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong has been detained in Changsha while meeting the family of a political prisoner; two major leaks exposed the inner workings of the Chinese censorship and surveillance...
open.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Lawyer Jiang Tianyong has been abruptly detained; leaks exposed the inner workings of the Chinese censorship and surveillance system; dissident Wang Yuping was forcibly hospitalized; China is piloting "village surveillance" in the Solomon Islands, and much more: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Last week, over 500GB of leaked confidential files exposed the inner workings of China's censorship and surveillance system, including international and domestic expansion and new advancements in real-time tracking of individuals and groups. Read here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
Largest Ever GFW Data Leak Exposes China's Online Censorship System
Last week, over 500GB of leaked confidential files exposed the inner workings of China's censorship and surveillance system, including its international and domestic expansion and alarming new advance...
open.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Last week, over 500GB of leaked confidential files exposed the inner workings of China's censorship and surveillance system, including international and domestic expansion and new advancements in real-time tracking of individuals and groups. Read here: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
A longform piece tells the story of Chinese human rights lawyers over the last 20 years; the NPC Standing Committee reviews laws on ethnic assimilation and cybersecurity; a report reveals "unlivable" conditions in HK prisons, and more in the Weekly Brief: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...
HRIC Weekly Brief
A new piece from Chinese journalist Jiang Xue chronicles the story of Chinese human rights lawyers over the last 20 years; the NPCSC's 17th session tackles laws on ethnic assimilation and cybersecurit...
open.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
A longform piece tells the story of Chinese human rights lawyers over the last 20 years; the NPC Standing Committee reviews laws on ethnic assimilation and cybersecurity; a report reveals "unlivable" conditions in HK prisons, and more in the Weekly Brief: open.substack.com/pub/hrichina...