HRIC Weekly Brief
February 3, 2026
Top News 头条
Former investigative journalist Liu Hu and prolific media personality Wu Yingjiao have gone missing, possibly detained across different provinces. According to lawyers Zhang Xinnian and Zhang Tingyuan, Wu was taken away by Sichuan police while in Handan, Hebei; while Liu is currently uncontactable. Their disappearances are suspected to be directly related to an article they co-published, titled “The Sichuan County Party Secretary Who Once Forced a Professor to Death Is Now Driving an Investment Enterprise to Bankruptcy.” The article has now been deleted. The fact that Sichuan police traveled all the way to Hebei to carry out a “cross-provincial arrest,” combined with the Discipline Inspection Commission directly intervening to warn well-known media figures, reflects the extreme intolerance of Chinese authorities toward public oversight. Independent investigative journalists and self-media practitioners in China face extremely high personal risks when exercising their rights to freedom of expression. HRIC will continue to monitor the whereabouts and situations of the two individuals.
Meanwhile, Guan Heng, the Chinese citizen who once risked his life to sneak into Xinjiang to film footage of detention camps, was granted asylum last Wednesday. The judge ruled that, given his actions in exposing human rights abuses, if Guan Heng were deported back to China, he would face a “well-founded” risk of persecution. However, since the Department of Homeland Security retained the right to appeal within 30 days, Guan Heng, who has already been detained for five months, has still not been released.
Editor’s Note: Shortly after this Brief was published, Guan Heng was released from detention. However, DHS still retains the right to appeal.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
HRIC on Twitter/X: On January 31, China’s Ministry of Public Security released a draft of the Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law for public review. This marks a formal shift in China’s internet governance model from the administrative dominance of the Cyberspace Administration of China to a “public security-led” policing model.
China Amends Common Language Law to Expand Mandarin Use: On December 27, 2025, the NPC Standing Committee approved revisions to the Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. Its legislative purpose, amongst others, now expressly includes “forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” and “strengthening cultural self-confidence.”
NPC Standing Committee to Convene Emergency Session Ostensibly to Confirm NPC Membership Changes: According to the official readout of the legislative leaders’ meeting, the sole agenda item is a report by the Delegate Credentials Committee “on the qualifications of certain delegates” who have recently been elected to or removed from the National People’s Congress.
NPC Calendar: February 2026: The NPC Standing Committee will convene for its 21st session in late February. The Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet before the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on February 15, to decide on the agenda and the dates of the session.
Hong Kong mulls legislation to tackle AI ‘deepfake’ porn – official: An inter-departmental working group set up by Hong Kong’s justice department is studying whether to set up legislation for cases involving indecent images generated by AI. In Hong Kong, there is currently no specific offense targeting the production of indecent photos of other people.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Notepad++ Hijacked by State-Sponsored Hackers: Notepad++, an open-source text and source code editor for Microsoft Windows, has confirmed that its update server was severely compromised between June and December 2025. Notepad++ stated: “Multiple independent security researchers have assessed that the threat actor is likely a Chinese state-sponsored group, which would explain the highly selective targeting observed during the campaign.”
HRIC on Twitter/X: Chinese search results on the X platform have been flooded with pornographic spam, making it impossible for citizens to access valid, real-time information. This “flood attack” is a blocking strategy that the Chinese government employs during sensitive periods of political turmoil.
The Central Military Commission on AI in the Army; Qwen’s “Positive Messaging” Alignment; State Media Ostriches on Chinese AI Safety Risks: Researcher Alex Colville uses “think-token forcing” to investigate how Chinese LLM models have been trained to talk about China.
Report: China approves import of high-end Nvidia AI chips after weeks of uncertainty: ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent received approval to purchase more than 400,000 H200 chips in total, marking a shift in Beijing’s stance after weeks of holding up shipments despite US export clearance.
Translation: “They’re Just Cutting Everything Down Indiscriminately.” Positivity on Birth Rate Doesn’t Keep Censors at Bay: China is seeing a fourth consecutive year of population decline and fewer than eight million births. Online commentary on the news was bleak, and even more positive posts face censorship, in an apparent reflection of the demographic crunch’s political sensitivity.
Alarm raised over Chinese CCTV cameras guarding ‘symbol of democracy’ Magna Carta: Campaigners called on Salisbury Cathedral, which houses one of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, to remove cameras made by Hangzhou-based Dahua Technology. Cameras made by the firm and other Chinese firms have already been removed from sensitive UK government sites, over concerns that they could be remotely accessed by China and used for spying.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
‘Free Jimmy Lai’ message projected onto London landmarks as Keir Starmer visits China: The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation projected messages urging Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “be the hero” and “bring Jimmy home.” Starmer began a three-day visit to China on January 28.
Related: What agreements have been made during Starmer’s trip to China?: Among several trade-related proposals, the UK and China have agreed to “intelligence sharing” related to organized crime and illegal immigration. Human rights did not appear to be on the agenda.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Yaqiu Wang on Twitter/X: The mother of activist and political prisoner Xu Zhiyong has passed away, while he remains imprisoned for his advocacy. Wang writes, “Being denied the chance to say goodbye to loved ones is one of the gravest sacrifices human rights defenders endure for their conviction.”
Chinese authorities denying activists access to adequate medical treatment: Yang Li, a land rights activist from Jiangsu, was tortured and denied access to adequate treatment for late stage kidney disease while serving a 15-month prison sentence. Activist Yin Xu’an was arrested in Beijing as he was getting into an ambulance for medical treatment for several illnesses including hypertension and coronary heart disease.
Tibetan singer Ah Sang released from prison but remains under surveillance: Despite his release, the singer remains under constant surveillance, highlighting the continued restrictions placed on Tibetan artists.
‘Many errors’ in prosecutors’ transcripts of Tiananmen vigil activists’ speeches, Hong Kong national security judge says: The prosecutors’ transcripts of the speeches of activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were found to contain numerous errors. Chow also pointed out many mistakes, including an erroneous reference to China’s “709 crackdown.”
Inside the Hong Kong newsrooms stifled by fear after Jimmy Lai’s conviction: What remains of journalism in Hong Kong is “editors identifying invisible red lines, protecting staff and ensuring their reporting does not expose journalists or sources, while reporters engage in self-censorship to escape harassment and intimidation by the government.”
Related: Letters From a Party Broadcaster.
47 democrats case: Two ex-district councillors released from jail over subversion plot – reports: Fergus Leung and Sam Cheung had been elected into office as part of a landslide victory for the pro-democracy camp in the 2019 District Council elections, with democrats securing control of 17 out of 18 councils.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
After Latest Purge, “There Aren’t Even Enough People Left to Form a WeChat Group” for China’s Central Military Commission: The investigations into Generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli has left the Central Military Commission with just two members, down from its former seven. The only remaining members are Xi Jinping himself as chairman, and disciplinary official Zhang Shengmin.
Related: Xi Jinping’s purge continues with Chinese emergencies minister latest to be accused of corruption: According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: “Wang Xiangxi, party secretary and minister of Emergency Management, is suspected of serious violations of Party discipline and law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation.”
Forced relocation of Tibetan nomads in Amdo raises legal and rights concerns: Qinghai residents reported long-standing disputes over pastureland ownership, forced relocations, and the absence of fair compensation, according to a report by Tibet Times, a Dharamshala based Tibetan media outlet.
China executes 11 members of Myanmar-based group in crackdown on scam operations: The executions are part of a broader crackdown by Beijing on scam operations in Southeast Asia.
Related: China executes 4 more members of Myanmar-based group in crackdown on scam operations.
Hong Kong security chief warns of ‘soft resistance’ over Wang Fuk Court fire: Secretary for Security Chris Tang claimed that some people had attempted to spread “fake news” about relief efforts for the Wang Fuk Court fire: “[t]his is all fake news, with the sole intent of inciting hatred and endangering the security of Hong Kong and the country.”
John Lee: Hong Kong’s first “Five-Year Plan” aligns with China’s “15th Five-Year Plan”: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee mentioned that the Hong Kong SAR government will formulate its first “Five-Year Plan” to align with China’s “15th Five-Year Plan” which will cover the economy, finance, and more.
International Responses 国际反应
UK Parliamentarians Issue Statement on Selective Lifting of CCP Sanctions: Given that the sanctions appear to only have been lifted from sitting parliamentarians, a statement from the impacted members of the House of Lords and House of Commons argues that seeking or accepting preferential treatment for current members of Parliament sends a damaging signal that some are more deserving of protection than others.