Pastor Huang Yizi is about to be tried for "illegal business". His crime? "Distributing audio Bible players containing his sermons to church members." Xi Jinping's crackdown on religion continue in China: chinaaid.org/news/the-cas...

I feel conflicted tweeting about this, as student activists living abroad have gone back w/o incident, & I don't want to spread the chill. But the arbitrariness is the terror itself. Chinese student jailed for 6 years for protesting for democracy in Australia: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

🚨A Chinese student was allegedly jailed for 6 years(!) after returning from #Australia, reportedly over pro-democracy protests in Sydney. @mayawang.bsky.social (HRW) says the case reflects a wider campaign of #transnationalrepression reaching PRC students overseas www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

China’s conviction rate is nearing 100% as the not-guilty rate falls to ~0.021%—a 25-year low, raising wrongful conviction risks: china.caixin.com/2026-04-15/1...

NEW: @hrw.org research finds that Beijing has tightened ideological control & surveillance on China's 12 million Catholics since Xi's Sinicization campaign & that the 2018 Holy See-China agreement has facilitated Beijing's pressure on the underground Catholic communities. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

Major UK museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, has deleted maps and images deemed "sensitive" by Beijing censors from exhibition publications. Incredible: www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

Read this from @chinadigitaltimes.net about how a small construction subcontractor tried to recover ~1/2 million USD in unpaid wages owed to his workers by a major state-owned company, only to end up being sued by that company. chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/7263...

Gao Zhen’s trial shows Beijing’s growing intolerance of dissent + contempt for the rule of law. He's punished for works done over a decade ago, when he was able to show them publicly in China. Secret trial + exit ban for family would've been rare back then www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/w...

very important op-ed highlighting what's often missing in media coverage of China's economy: This is an economy based on crushing the rights of workers and communities rather than anything else. Heavy repression means only very little can be exposed by journalists & NGOs.

"A Europe that systematically embed human rights across trade, procurement, migration, and security policies, would strengthen not only its credibility, but also its security, acting as a stabilizing force in an unstable world." - @benjeannerod.bsky.social & @mayawang.bsky.social in @lemonde.fr

European policies' focus on China's subsidies & industrial policy is missing a deeper point: that China's political economy is built on "a scaffolding of abuses that enable authorities to reshape economic sectors and to strong-arm communities with minimal resistance." www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

Chinese government's going after the lawyers defending the arrested leaders of Zion Church, a major unofficial evangelical church in China, revoking and suspending the lawyers' licenses: www.wsj.com/world/china/...

"World leaders should use this moment to challenge #China’s enforced silence surrounding #Tibet" #TibetanUprisingDay @mayawang.bsky.social #HumanRightsWatch www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

On March 10, anniversary of 1959 Lhasa Uprising, Chinese govt would be on high alert, but few Tibetans would dare to mark the occasion as the cost is too high. "World leaders should use this moment to challenge China’s enforced silence surrounding Tibet": www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

The rush to China trade "–meant to survive Trump’s chaos–may instead hasten the arrival of the China Century, one in which Beijing dominates not only geopolitics but its repressive approach to domestic governance becomes the global norm." My op-ed: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

. @mayawang.bsky.social of @hrw.org in the @theglobeandmail.com : “Mr. Carney is right that middle powers need to co-operate. But a more honest “pragmatism” begins with recognizing that widespread human rights violations by a trading partner generate economic, security and governance risks.”

Blade defects at Three Gorges wind farm expose quality risks in China’s turbine boom – Caixin Global: ‘adding to concerns that China’s past installation rush and price wars are now surfacing as costly quality failures.’

Framing Hong Kong’s repression as “stability” risks legitimising authoritarian governance as an economic good, and words from democratic leaders matter far beyond Hong Kong and set precedents elsewhere.

When pressed by journalists, British PM Keir Starmer said he *mentioned* Jimmy Lai to Xi. He didn't seem to have called for Lai's release: www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

Chinese govt has detained the leader + key members of underground Protestant church, the Early Rain Covenant Church. There's been a string of arrests of members of prominent “house churches” in China in past year. They should be freed, faith isn't a crime: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

China’s government has long sought to silence dissent abroad, but recently there’s been a disturbing escalation: harassment through sexually explicit letters targeting activists outside the country www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

The second is a deep dive into the numbers - and lives - behind China's renewable energy surge by @wang-seaver.bsky.social and @tednordhaus.bsky.social. --> www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/greenwashi...

Two great pieces just dropped that lift the veil on the story of China as a "green" saviour. Worth the read! First one by @sophiedrich.bsky.social @climaterights.bsky.social on what China showed - and obfuscated - at the most recent COP. climaterightsinternational.substack.com/p/china-cop3...

At a summit dominated by two leaders who have demonstrated such utter hostility to the international system, human rights & democratic principles, how should democratic countries respond? With courage and conviction. By me & John Sifton: thediplomat.com/2025/10/trum...

Extensive research shows while autocracies eg China "sometimes achieve rapid gains, they also produce volatility, repression, & data manipulation", on balance democracies "offers the strongest odds for healthier, more stable, and prosperous societies" www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/wha...

Among the strongest words we've heard from Zelenskyy on China since the war began

EV investment in the US tumbled by a third in the last quarter, the Clean Investment Monitor from Rhodium Group & MIT shows. Under Trump, the US is unilaterally surrendering the global EV market to China (and others). It risks turning the US into the Galapagos Islands of cars. on.ft.com/4nlRcly

What a striking vignette about gender relations in China today: A feminist opened three women-only spaces three years ago-- as emergency shelter, reading group, and gathering place--and men came in and destroyed two of them. They may all have to close: chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/7221...

中國政府剛剛主辦了「全球婦女峰會」。 在一個監禁女權運動者、把女性身體當作控制人口方式的地方舉行「婦女峰會」，不僅諷刺更令人感到冒犯。 這場峰會把女性權利當作營銷工具，並對女性觀點進行嚴密審查，而當前最迫切的議題，諸如基於性別的暴力（包括性騷擾和家庭暴力）以及生育自主權，大都遭到忽視或幾乎未見改進。 - 人權觀察 @mayawang.bsky.social

❗️Detained Chinese artist Gao Zhen (高兟) is in poor health and had fainted in late Sept. Chinese govt should drop charges against the 69-year-old, allow him + his family to return to the United States. The Gaos are US green card holders & citizen. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

The Chinese govt's proposed draft "Ethnic Unity" Law would justify, intensify existing: ▶️ ideological controls ▶️ the targeting of ethnic and religious minorities, including by erasing minority language rights + ▶️foster control beyond China’s borders. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

“ .. #Tibetans, #Uyghurs, and others who speak out for minority populations can expect even greater government repression.” @mayawang.bsky.social (HRW) www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

#張雅笛 被捕是「一件 #跨國鎮壓 案例。中國留學生的抗爭行動恐怕已遭嚴密監控。它的影響是使每個人都對自己的一言一行感到十分擔心，包括在中國國外。」- 人權觀察 @mayawang.bsky.social 對《自由亞洲電台》表示： www.rfa.org/english/chin...

Our latest case of #transnationalrepression: a young Chinese woman studying in France has disappeared some seven weeks ago while on a trip to visit her family in Hunan province. She is an editor for the digital platform “Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet” (CYST) www.tibetanreview.net/chinese-intl...

‼️ A Chinese student has been missing during her visit home due to her activism for Tibetan rights while studying in France. Lawyer Jiang Tianyong, who represents her, has been taken into custody during a meeting with her parents. French govt should press for their freedom.

As people in China, including many young people, tighten their belts, dumpster-diving (or more precisely, picking vegetables thrown out by wholesale veggie sellers, 捡菜) has become a fashionable trend:

For years there are allegations of the spread of China's Great Firewall (especially by Myanmar activists) but there had been no concrete proof--until now. This looks like an incredibly important contribution: www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

I'll speak at a #HRC60 side event on human rights in China, alongside Mary Lawlor, Rizwangul NurMuhammed, and Sophie Richardson, moderated by Raphael Viana David. We'll discuss the chilling effects of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances in China on human rights and offer recommendations.

While the world celebrated the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama this July, Tibetans inside Tibet faced brutal repression- owning a photo, singing in his honour, or organising a simple prayer can lead to arrest, torture, or disappearance under Chinese occupation

"Some diplomats asked me if it is still worth making public statements about abuses in Xinjiang...The answer is a resounding yes." Heartbreaking and personal by @yalkun.bsky.social China's committed crimes against humanity and should be held accountable: thehill.com/opinion/inte...

"A government can’t half care about human rights. And Australia’s ‘disagree where we must’ approach with China enables abuse and undermines [Australia's] national interest." Excellent piece by my colleague @dgavshon.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/law/commenti...

就在 #中國共產黨 紀念二戰勝利80週年並大秀軍事實力的同時，批評中共惡劣人權記錄的聲音也日益高漲。 從 #彭立發 和2022年 #白紙運動 ，到湖南 #方藝融 、四川 #梅世林 的布條抗議行動，再到今個月在重慶、北京各地陸續出現的反習標語，這些抗爭的共通點是：即使中國政府鎮壓日益緊迫，仍然不斷出現無畏的公民，甘冒巨大風險，公開批評習近平並要求民主改革。 中共盛大的閱兵背後，掩藏著中國共產黨高壓統治的潛在弱點：在執政超過70年後，中共依然最害怕自己的人民，只因他們屢屢以勇敢的行動要求民主與人權。 @mayawang.bsky.social

Yes there's the state-of-the-art weaponry, yes there are the goose-stepping soldiers. But beneath this show of strength of a dictators' club, there is an enduring anxiety: of the people standing up for their rights. My modest piece: www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Young Chinese scholar of Uyghur culture, missing since 2018, is reportedly sentenced to 15 years in prison hrichina.substack.com/p/young-chin... This stunningly harsh sentence is in fact typical during Xinjiang's abusive crackdown, where baseless prison terms are *12.5 years on average*.

China refuses to release the environmental assessment report of the world's largest dam, claiming it's a "state secret." It said earlier that the dam, being built in Tibet and will have impact on India + Bangladesh, is "a safe project that prioritises ecological protection".

"That Xi felt compelled to overshadow the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday with a carefully choreographed display of power only reveals Beijing's enduring anxiety: Tibet remains less a success story of integration than a fragile frontier" asia.nikkei.com/opinion/xi-j...

Ecuador settles with Chinese state-owned company that built a $3.3 billion dam that later developed > 17,000 cracks in it + it "is under threat from the backward erosion of the Coca River". In China, people are familiar with such "tofu dregs " projects: fundacionandresbello.org/en/news/ecua...

人權律師 #高智晟 被中國當局 #強迫失蹤 至今已整整八年。高律師曾處理過多宗維權案件，因此被當局吊銷律師執照、施以酷刑、強迫失蹤和囚禁。他在2016年出版回憶錄，討論包括中國未來民主化等議題後，在2017年8月被當局強迫失蹤。 中國政府應立刻釋放高智晟，以及所有被關押的人權倡議者。 高智晟： wqw2010.blogspot.com/2024/08/blog...

> 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have lost access to essential food & medical aid due to US funding cuts. The Thai government should immediately permit refugees to lawfully work and travel outside its refugee camps, @hrw says www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Hundreds of Israeli attacks since Oct 2023 have struck > 500 school buildings, many used as shelters, killing hundreds of civilians + damaging *nearly all* of Gaza’s schools, @hrw says: www.hrw.org/news/2025/08... These "include unlawfully indiscriminate attacks using US munitions".