HRIC Weekly Brief
February 24, 2026
Top News 头条
On Monday, three Hong Kong Court of Appeals judges rejected all 12 appeals from activists in the landmark “Hong Kong 47” national security case, upholding their sentences and jail terms for the crime of “subversion.” 45 of the 47 had been found guilty in May 2024, and sentenced to between 4 and 10 years in prison. The judges rejected arguments that the sentences were too heavy, or that the plaintiffs had received unfair trials due to excessive judicial intervention.
Meanwhile, investigative journalists Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao have finally been released on bail two weeks after they were detained across provincial borders in apparent connection with their recent report on corruption by local officials in Chengdu. The pair’s detention triggered an immediate flood of online commentary.
And in case you missed it: Alysa Liu’s gold-medal-winning performance at the Winter Olympics has sparked renewed discussion of the 1989 pro-democracy movement and Tiananmen Square Massacre among young Chinese people online, prompted by interest in Alysa’s background and her father, Arthur Liu, who was on the Chinese government’s “Most Wanted” list due to his activism in 1989. HRIC’s Executive Director Fengsuo Zhou reflected, “It is deeply moving to see the next generation flourish under the protection and freedoms of the United States. I am profoundly proud of Alysa.”
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Updates on NPC Delegates’ 2025 Legislative Proposals: In 2025, National People’s Congress delegates submitted 268 legislative bills, which were referred to the 10 NPC special committees for deliberations. Of note is the Law on the Classified and Graded Protection for Cross-Border Data Flows proposed by the Yunnan delegation.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
HRIC on Twitter/X: According to a report by Wired Italy, the Italian Interior Ministry has been targeted by a cyberattack attributed to Chinese cybercriminals. The hackers successfully breached the IT system and stole highly sensitive data belonging to thousands of agents, most of whom are responsible for counterterrorism, monitoring foreign communities, and tracking Chinese dissidents living in Italy.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Nikkei revealed that approximately 400 X accounts, suspected to be Chinese in origin, coordinated a mass posting of AI-generated images during the early Lower House election in Japan, aiming to concentrate negative public opinion against Prime Minister Takamichi Sanna.
Anthropic accuses Chinese AI labs of mining Claude as US debates AI chip exports: Three Chinese AI companies, DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax, have been accused of setting up more than 24,000 fake accounts with American company Anthropic’s Claude AI model to improve their own models.
China’s dancing robots: how worried should we be?: “Unlike AI models or industrial equipment, humanoid robots are highly visible examples of China’s technological leadership that general audiences can see on their phones or televisions.”
Fact check: Are China’s robot soldiers just AI fakes?: According to German media outlet Deutsche Welle, although the military robots in a recently circulating viral video are based on the G1 model by Chinese company Unitree Robotics, the videos themselves were actually created using artificial intelligence.
Rural Spaces of Digital Labour: ‘Taobao Villages’ demonstrate a trajectory in which digital platforms, logistics infrastructures, and data-driven forms of governance are territorialized through rural spaces and social relations, rather than through the urban sites that usually anchor narratives of technological change.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Harnessing the People: Mapping Overseas United Front Work in Democratic States: The CCP’s global network of individuals and organizations working as part of its United Front system is the product of protracted co-optation of existing civil society organizations overseas and the global expansion of domestic United Front elements. The Party has spent decades assiduously cultivating overseas Chinese community organizations, co-opting local leaders and institutions to embed its preferences within civil society.
Chinese Suppression of Uyghur Activists’ Peaceful Protest Sparks Outrage: At a Chinese New Year celebration event held by the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands, Abdurehim Gheni entered the venue holding a placard bearing the East Turkistan flag and map with the words “East Turkistan Independence is the Only Guarantee to Save the Uyghurs.” In response, one or two security guards and five or six Chinese staff members rushed over, snatched his placard, pinned him to the ground, shook him, and dragged him out of the venue.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
HRIC on Twitter/X: On February 18, 2026, Liu Yao, a well-known human rights lawyer and anti-corruption whistleblower in Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, spent his 64th birthday in prison. He was criminally detained in December 2025 simply for reporting the Party Secretary of Heyuan City, and the Director of the Heyuan Public Security Bureau. A year and a half later, he was framed and sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges including “extortion” and “fraud.” This was his 10th birthday spent in prison.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Liu Xiaodan from Harbin has been petitioning for 14 years to seek justice for her brother Liu Xiaodong’s mysterious death in a welfare home, but she was forcibly detained in a mental hospital and then administratively detained on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” and tortured by police.
Who is Dong Yuyu, the rare independent voice in China’s state media, jailed for nearly four years?: The fourth anniversary of Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu’s detention fell on 21 February. Dong Yuyu’s son, Dong Yifu, describes his father’s years of harsh conditions behind bars for his lifetime devotion to independent journalism, despite working for China’s draconian state media.
Timeline: Over 60 Hong Kong civil society groups disband following the onset of the security law: After Hong Kong’s National Security Law came into force in 2020, over 60 organizations including unions, churches, media groups, and political parties have disbanded. The trend accelerated in the second half of 2021, with bastions of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement crumbling within months.
1,000 CUHK students, staff and alumni petition to reinstate student expelled following nat. sec arrest: Student Miles Kwan was reportedly arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition in late November, after he created a petition calling for an independent probe into the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire. Now, students and staff are protesting CUHK’s decision to expel Kwan mere weeks before graduation.
Related: ‘Gov’t should bear greatest responsibility’: Tai Po fire survivors recall futile whistle-blowing attempts. Wang Fuk Court residents have said that about a year before the deadly blaze, they filed reports with various authorities about suspected fire hazards including scaffolding nets, foam boards, and construction workers smoking on site. Regrettably, their efforts went nowhere.
Queer Manifestos: Editorials from Chinese Queer Zines: Since the late 1990s, even amid continuing media censorship and sporadic government crackdowns on LGBTQIA+ activism, urban China experienced a boom in LGBT groups, organizations, and events. However, most disappeared in the 2010s, amid waves of government crackdowns, a lack of funding, and the growth of digital media.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China Requires Uyghurs in Aksu to Take Driver’s Exams in Mandarin, Part of Effort to Erase Uyghur Language from Daily Life: Authorities in Aksu Prefecture have begun implementing Mandarin Chinese as the required language for the driver’s license theory examination in several counties beginning February 15, 2026.
International Responses 国际反应
Washington appoints new US envoy on Tibetan human rights: The role, which was created by the US Congress in 2002, will be filled by Riley Barnes, who is currently also serving as the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor.
Trump to make three-day visit to China next month, White House says: Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, the White House has said, in what will be the first official visit to Beijing by a United States president since Trump’s last trip there in 2017.