HRIC Weekly Brief
December 23, 2025
Top News 头条
Sweeping arrests targeting grassroots protestors and Christian house churches have cast a shadow over the holiday season. In Kham Zachuka, approximately 80 Tibetans are reported to have been detained in November following a protest against an illegal gold mine; the whereabouts of seven individuals remain unknown. Meanwhile, on December 13, the town of Yayang in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, home to the Yayang house church, was abruptly sealed off by around a thousand special police officers. Over the course of two days, more than 100 Christians were arrested, and house church leaders Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci have been placed on a wanted list, with bounties offered for their capture. Human Rights in China urges the Chinese authorities to immediately cease their unjust persecution of the Yayang Church and to unconditionally release all detained members, as well as any Tibetan protestors who are still detained. We also ask international media and human rights organizations to closely monitor the safety of Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci and others. Religious freedom is not a crime.
In better news, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has dropped its plan to deport Guan Heng to Uganda, a country which likely would have turned him over to the Chinese authorities. In case you missed it, HRIC’s profile on Guan Heng describes a man who risked his safety to prove the existence of Uyghur concentration camps in Xinjiang.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Suitable for all audiences?: Jeremy Daum’s analysis of the new “Measures for Categorizing Online Information that Might Impact Minors’ Physical and Psychological Health” places it within China’s larger censorship scheme and explains why its contents are both hyper-specific (such as regulating content that may “entice minors to make bad/undesirable friends”) and “unworkably vague.”
NPCSC Session Watch: Environmental Code, Antarctic Policy, Ethnicity & Language, State Assets, Childcare, Banking Regulation & Trademarks: China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee is holding its last meeting of the year from December 22-27. In addition to the introduction of several new bills, including a proposal to interpret the Criminal Law, the NPCSC will review amendments to eight laws. It plans to submit the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress to the NPC for final approval in 2026.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for November 2025, Part One: Some notable censored articles from the Chinese internet in November include a first-hand account of repression from a “petitioner” seeking help from the central government, a critique of unequal distribution of government assistance, and a piece accusing Tencent of “arbitrarily censoring” news reports.
Related: CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for November 2025, Part Two.
China’s Communication Centers Stumble: China has invested heavily in regional “international communication centers,” which are meant to consolidate local funds and streamline overseas propaganda efforts while diversifying its voices. Yet, many ICCs struggle with resource imbalances, poor coordination and strategy, and weak evaluation measures. Notably, “ICCs (like central state media before them) have made no real attempt to understand foreign audiences at all.”
Can China Be Trusted to Lead on AI Safety?: Chinese AI companies may be more concerned about politically sensitive topics than real-world threats. DeepSeek-R1, praised by some as “the most regulated [AI company] in the world,” provided accurate instructions for producing many illegal drugs and even weapons when tested by the team at China Media Project.
The Chinese Core of “Uganda’s ChatGPT”: An AI chatbot developed in Uganda, based on China’s Qwen, is hesitant to provide any criticism regarding China, China-Uganda relations, or Ugandan politics. When asked direct questions, answers range from positive spins on controversial topics to outright denials. AI models such as these give governments greater control over information compared to search engines such as Google.
Meta tolerates rampant ad fraud from China to safeguard billions in revenue: A 2024 report found that 19% of Meta’s advertising with China businesses consisted of illegal fraud schemes. At first, Meta responded by attempting to remove fraudulent content, but after its Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg, called for these efforts to stop, the fraud quickly ramped up once again, resulting in billions of dollars in revenue for Meta while harming users worldwide.
UK Foreign Office victim of cyber-attack in October, says Chris Bryant: While it’s been confirmed that the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was hacked in October, the perpetrators remain up for debate. The Sun claims that the Chinese hacking group, Storm 1849, orchestrated the breach, but the UK has not confirmed this allegation.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
China’s Dark Hand Reaching into European Academic Research: Espionage, Threats, and Cyber Attacks: In a report published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German newspaper, three European academics described the extensive harassment and attempted infiltration they faced over a three-year research project on Uyghur ethnography.
Related: So versucht China, Wissenschaftler zum Schweigen zu bringen [How China tries to silence scientists].
US tech enabled China’s surveillance empire. Now Tibetan refugees in Nepal are paying the price: While once a sanctuary for Tibetans fleeing China, Nepal has become increasingly unwelcoming to these refugees. One reason is due to its “unprecedented surveillance.” Chinese companies have provided Nepal with millions of dollars in surveillance technology, including cameras with facial recognition and AI tracking, which it developed based on U.S. technology.
「中國行動」再出招！斗大劉曉波頭像投影紐約街頭 [“China Action” strikes again! A massive projection of Liu Xiaobo’s portrait appears on the streets of New York.]: On December 10th, international human rights group China Action projected images of activist Liu Xiaobo and a message to “Release Prisoners of Conscience” onto the Chinese Consulate General in New York. Zhou Fengsuo, executive director of Human Rights in China, stressed that “Liu Xiaobo’s image was the first to be censored using image censorship [in China], so displaying Liu Xiaobo’s image on World Human Rights Day has a special significance.”
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
In full: The 855-page guilty verdict against media tycoon Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong Free Press has published the entire verdict from the trial against Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong media businessman charged under Hong Kong’s national security law with “conspiring to collude with foreign forces.”
Related: G7 calls for Jimmy Lai’s immediate release as pressure mounts on China.
Dashed dreams and land grabs: The rise of rural protests in China: Freedom House has reported a 70% increase of protests taking place in rural China over the last two years. While these protests are likely not directly related to one another, they indicate a general sense of unrest in China’s economy, especially as land is seized by local authorities for reportedly low compensation.
HRIC on X/Twitter: U.S.-based artist Gao Zhen, who was detained in China over 15 months ago, has had his application for bail denied and his detention extended to 2026. While in detention Gao’s communications have been restricted, with only his lawyers able to meet with him. At nearly 70 years old, Gao Zhen suffers from severe lumbar spine disease, and his health is a significant concern as he awaits an unknown trial date.
Tibetan rights defender Tsering Tso sentenced to one year in prison: Tsering Tso has been charged with the vague offense of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Now under temporary probation, she continues to deny the charges against her while arguing that her right to appeal is being impeded.
China’s Invisible Journalists: In China, “fixers” are news assistants who work with journalists to provide logistical support, including contacting and interviewing subjects, providing translations, booking hotels, and handling emergencies. However, despite their critical roles and the high-risk nature of their work, which often brings them up against the “red lines” of the authorities, fixers typically receive less respect, recognition, and legal protections than traditional journalists.
Man arrested after charging onto Sha Tin Racecourse track with banner about fatal Tai Po fire: A man was arrested on “suspicion of causing disorder in a public place” after carrying a banner that seemingly called for an investigation into the tragic Tai Po fire.
Hong Kong: Prisons rife with violence and inhumane treatment, inmate testimony reveals: Amnesty International calls for Hong Kong authorities to investigate its correctional facilities as nine former prison inmates report degrading and violent treatment. Conditions are so poor, experts have stated they may constitute torture under international law.
Teenager jailed for 3.5 years over Hong Kong independence group involvement: After attending online meetings, circulating political social media posts, and helping with the group’s naming and logo design, a 16-year-old boy was determined to have “actively participated in promoting” a group known as the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union. Charged with “conspiring to commit secession,” the teenager pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 42 months in jail.
Hong Kong man pleads guilty to damaging election posters, says he tore off only fingertip-sized piece: Mo Chi-kit states he tore off small pieces of two “patriots only” election posters “for fun.” While no text was damaged on the posters, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the offense of “criminal damage.”
Hong Kong man convicted on sedition, insulting national anthem charges walks free after winning sentence appeal: In 2022, Chui Hoi-chun pleaded guilty to, among other offenses, “intending to insult the national anthem” and “intentionally publishing ‘a desecration of the national flag’.” After receiving an unusually harsh sentence, the now 21-year-old Chui won his appeal and will not serve more time in a training centre for young offenders.
Hong Kong director says film was denied public screening on national security grounds: A Hong Kong filmmaker was told by the government that his fictional film about a suicide threat at an elite school was deemed “contrary to the interest of national security.” With no further explanation, he was warned that streaming his film in Hong Kong against this order could result in up to three years in jail and a HK$1 million fine.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China sues after Missouri seeks to collect on $25 billion court judgment, prosecutor says: When China refused to participate, a judge ruled in favor of Missouri’s claim that China “hoarded personal protective equipment during the early months of the [Covid-19] pandemic.” Now, China has filed its own counter-lawsuit, alleging that Missouri has been “fabricating enormous disinformation, and spreading stigmatizing and discriminating slanders.” While China is seeking over $50 billion in compensation as well as a public apology, those behind the Missouri case are not backing down.
China’s green power in Angola: When clean energy comes with heavy debt: While China has praised its long investment history in Angola, and especially its more recent environmental initiatives in the country, research indicates that Angola has been left economically vulnerable as a result. Higher debt has caused the country to spend less on health, education, and even climate adaptation, undermining China’s stated financing goals.
International Responses 国际反应
Thailand/Cambodia: Suspend trial of Uyghur detainees and implement UN request to redress multiple human rights violations: The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found that the ten-year detention of Bilal Mohammed and Yusufu Mieraili, ethnic Uyghurs from China’s Xinjiang region, should be considered a case of “arbitrary detention.” According to the Working Group, Thailand has violated a host of international human rights, including due process rights and the right to a fair trial, and it further calls for Mohammed and Mieralli’s immediate release and enforceable right to reparations.
US announces massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion, angering China: A proposed U.S. weapons package would be the largest ever sent to Taiwan in an effort to boost the country’s political stability, military, and economy. In response, China has called the fate of Taiwan independence “doomed” and stated that the sale of additional weapons will cause “a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war.” The U.S. is legally obligated to support Taiwan’s self-defense, straining political relations with China, which has expressed its intent to control the island.