Top News 头条
Human Rights in China (HRIC) has published a report documenting a pattern of organized violence against anti-Xi protesters during Xi Jinping’s September 23–25 Washington visit, closely mirroring attacks at the 2023 San Francisco APEC summit.
Demonstrators calling for freedom in Tibet, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Taiwan gathered near the White House, chanting “Xi Jinping has got to go.” Some even dressed as Winnie the Pooh, a banned meme comparing Xi to the cartoon bear, as part of the broader satirical and political dissent against Xi’s state visit. As thousands of pro-democracy, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Hong Kong protesters gathered near Xi’s hotel and the Chinese Embassy, they faced repeated encirclement, banner-snatching, pepper-spraying, and physical assaults from organized pro-Beijing crowds: an estimated 100 overseas Chinese associations bussed in with centralized logistics and stipends, while unidentified men in matching dark clothing and face masks moved between the crowds, filming and attacking protesters, with one suspect reportedly protected by diplomatic immunity according to police. New York community leader Chen Shanzhuang, previously linked to organizing violence at the 2023 San Francisco incident, reappeared as an apparent on-site coordinator during the Washington attacks.
Despite extensive video evidence, only anti-Xi protesters faced arrest and prosecution (five arrests, including one transferred to ICE custody), while no pro-Beijing attackers have been criminally charged, mirroring the impunity seen in 2023. HRIC calls on U.S. law enforcement to investigate the assailants’ identities and possible links to Chinese diplomatic missions, and questions why diplomatic immunity would shield individuals from accountability for street violence against people exercising their constitutional rights.
In other news related to the summit, 37 members of Congress wrote to Trump urging him to personally press Xi to repeal China’s “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,” warning it threatens religious freedom and enables transnational repression against Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other minorities worldwide. The wife of detained seismologist Youlin Chen said the White House assured her Trump would press Xi for her husband’s release, along with that of scholar Min Zin, as both remain designated “wrongfully detained” by the US. In the meantime, AI, trade, and Taiwan issues were left largely unresolved.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Does China Intend to Target Taiwan With New National Security Legislation?: Taiwanese officials worry that China may roll out further national security legislation targeting Taiwan following the Ethnic Unity Law, citing recent exit-entry regulations, cyberspace security measures, and the National Defense Mobilization Law as building blocks for expanded “long-arm” jurisdiction.
USALI This Week in Asian Law 09/25: The National People’s Congress Standing Committee plans to study a dedicated law on “filing and review,” the process for checking whether regulations, local laws, and judicial interpretations comply with the constitution and national law. The process has led to changes in local rules that, for example, restricted the schooling, jobs, and welfare benefits of relatives of people accused or convicted of crimes. The law would consolidate review systems now run separately by the legislature, the government, the courts, and other state bodies.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Translation: “Eventually, We All Learned to Keep Quiet”: Prompted by censorship following a Guangzhou mass stabbing which targeted women, this essay reflects on how self-censorship has become an internalized survival skill in China, warning that suppressed anger curdles into dangerous societal numbness rather than genuine social harmony.
Scripting the Source: Chinese state TV journalists reveal that live interviews are increasingly pre-scripted before filming even begins, with interviewees given talking points to recite. This “risk management” shift strips journalism of its function as authentic, on-the-spot information gathering.
China’s Approach to AI: Infrastructural Statecraft, Managed Pluralism: This analysis argues China’s AI development model is best understood as “the government builds the stage, enterprises put on the show”; in other words, state-controlled infrastructure is paired with managed competition among firms, distinct from a more market-driven approach.
New rules to protect tech secrets could strand Taiwanese visitors in China: China’s new rules allowing exit bans for tech-export violations have prompted Taiwan to warn semiconductor and tech workers of detention risk, with analysts saying the rules reflect Beijing’s fear of losing AI talent and IP to the US.
China, US agree to set up channel for AI safety incidents: Following the Trump-Xi summit, both countries agreed to establish a bilateral communication channel for AI-related incidents and a formal “AI Dialogue” set for November, alongside continued Board of Trade cooperation and military crisis-communication mechanisms.
Related: Trump and Chinese president Xi end summit without major agreement on AI. The three-day Washington summit closed with pageantry and a two-month trade truce extension but no binding AI framework, despite months of buildup, drawing criticism that the leaders squandered a chance to address the AI arms race.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
HRIC on Twitter/X: On the morning of September 22, an alarming incident of transnational repression occurred outside the Chinese Consulate-General in Toronto. A man wearing a Chinese national flag pin—strongly suspected of being consulate personnel—openly and violently tore down protest banners and shoved an elderly female demonstrator. Confronting the peaceful protesters, he aggressively issued blatant death threats: “Under the Anti-Secession Law, I can have you shot!” and “Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death!” When a bystander stepped in to intervene and reminded him, “This is Canada,” the man showed no restraint, brazenly shouting back, “Fuck Canada!” along with a stream of profanities.
130 UN human rights experts issued a joint statement calling on the international community to stop “transnational repression.”: Over 130 UN Special Procedures mandate holders and Treaty Body members issued a landmark joint statement urging states, tech companies, and INTERPOL to combat transnational repression, including spyware, AI-enabled surveillance, and cross-border intimidation.
HRIC on Twitter/X: The English edition of Xu Zhiyong’s essay collection “A Beautiful China” was launched at Georgetown University Law Center on September 22, 2026, with more than twenty friends, human rights advocates, publishers, scholars, and lawyers in attendance. The launch came just ahead of Xi Jinping’s visit to the US, offering the international community a chance to hear a voice beyond China’s official narrative.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
HRIC on Twitter/X: Wang Yi, pastor of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church, who is currently serving his sentence in Sichuan, has reportedly been diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. This news has sparked strong international concern for his health and safety. Pastor Wang Yi was arrested on December 9, 2018; on December 30, 2019, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations” related to his role in running the church.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Human rights defender Shi Tingfu passed away on September 22 while serving his sentence in Shashi Prison, Aksu, Xinjiang, only four months before he was supposed to be released. The prison authorities told Mr. Shi’s son that his father had died of a heart attack. Mr. Shi was arrested on January 15, 2024, for helping fruit farmers from the Aksu Production and Construction Corps defend their rights.
HRIC on Twitter/X: On September 23, 2026, Chen Yunfei, a member of Chengdu Qiuyu Shengyue Church, was formally arrested by the Wujiang District Police in Chengdu City on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
HRIC on Twitter/X: Human rights defender Jia Xun was released from prison upon completion of his sentence on September 21, 2026. Four years ago, Jia was arrested across provinces by Henan police in Beihai, Guangxi, accused of using VPNs to access overseas websites such as Facebook and Twitter, “spreading false information, stirring up trouble, and causing serious disruption to public order,” and was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
HRIC on Twitter/X: In a leaked clip from a private gathering, SOHO China founder Pan Shiyi (潘石屹) recounts the chilling fallout of Ren Zhiqiang (任志强)’s private dissent. According to Pan, Ren sent an internal letter to just 11 people, and Pan was the first on the list. While other recipients inside China were swiftly rounded up, Pan narrowly escaped detention only because he had already arrived in the United States.
The Chinese Communist Party’s plan to build a “love the Party” propaganda station at a pilgrimage site in Gonjo County, Tibet, has sparked public petitions in opposition.: Chinese authorities’ plan to build a Communist Party propaganda station at a Buddhist pilgrimage site in Gonjo County, Tibet, has triggered rare public petitions of opposition from local Tibetans, reflecting broader resentment over religious sites being used for political indoctrination.
Security Bureau weighs action as years-old Joshua Wong film tops Netflix charts following state-backed media report: Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said it is “taking relevant follow-up actions” after a pro-Beijing newspaper flagged that the 2017 documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, about jailed activist Joshua Wong, had unexpectedly topped Netflix Hong Kong’s charts, though authorities stopped short of confirming any ban.
Elderly woman to stand trial under nat. security legislation despite psychosis diagnosis: Yang Chau-kei, 61, diagnosed with psychosis and delusional disorder, will go to trial in October for displaying seditious materials outside her Tin Shui Wai flat, after the court proceeded despite her psychiatric evaluation and denial of bail.
Hong Kong court to rule on ex-Stand News editor’s appeal bid against sedition conviction in 6 months: A Hong Kong appellate court will rule within six months on Patrick Lam’s bid to overturn his sedition conviction as former acting editor of the shuttered outlet Stand News, in a case seen as a bellwether for press freedom.
Hong Kong slams EU report claiming ‘deterioration of fundamental freedoms’ in the city: Hong Kong authorities rejected the EU’s annual report citing “continued deterioration of fundamental freedoms” and intense national-security focus, calling the assessment biased and accusing Brussels of double standards.
Prison authorities accuse ‘anti-China’ figures of ‘fabricating lies’ after US group says guards rehearsed Jimmy Lai’s death: Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department accused “anti-China” advocacy groups of “fabricating lies” after a US-based foundation reported that Stanley Prison guards had rehearsed procedures for the event of Jimmy Lai’s death in custody, amid concerns over his deteriorating health.
Hong Kong 47: Ex-district councillor says he has ‘no regrets’ after release from prison: Ng Kin-wai, released after five years and seven months for conspiracy to subvert state power, said he stood by his pro-democracy activism, acknowledging Hong Kong’s changed political reality while refusing to call it acceptable.
Questioning Hong Kong’s lack of a banned book list is ‘soft resistance’ – outgoing nat. security police chief: Outgoing national security police chief Andrew Kan stated that even asking why Hong Kong won’t publish a list of banned books itself constitutes “soft resistance,” reflecting the vague, expansive use of the undefined term to police public discourse.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
HRIC on Twitter/X: BBC Verify has discovered that Apple Maps blurs satellite images of thousands of military and political facilities in China for users outside the country, including detention sites linked to allegations of forced labor and torture, as well as the Urumqi No. 1 Prison where Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti is held. While blurring military bases may have security justifications, erasing facilities accused of large-scale arbitrary detention alongside them effectively helps authorities cover up evidence.
How China is trying to stop an expert exodus: Beijing seeks to prevent Chinese-trained PhDs and researchers from emigrating abroad as China races to retain scientific talent amid intensifying tech competition. Relatedly, new exit-ban regulations restrict citizens with access to sensitive “industrial or technological security” knowledge from leaving the country.
International Responses 国际反应
Hong Kong Watch research finds US$8.8 billion in Western investment funneled to sanctioned Chinese entities: A new Hong Kong Watch investigation found 230 Western financial institutions, including BlackRock and JPMorgan, have legally funneled $8.8 billion into China’s sanctioned military-industrial complex by exploiting loopholes in US sanctions rules, such as ambiguous naming requirements and joint-venture carve-outs.
Alarm bells sound in Brussels as EU sales of Chinese hybrid cars rocket: Sales of Chinese-made hybrid vehicles in the EU have exploded from 659 units in 2022 to over 160,000 in the first seven months of 2026 as Chinese automakers like BYD sidestep EU tariffs targeting fully electric cars, prompting Brussels to request voluntary export curbs.