HRIC Weekly Brief
September 30, 2025
Top News 头条
Last week, Xi Jinping visited Xinjiang to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, presenting an image of harmony and stability even as Beijing faces grave international accusations of abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. During his three-day tour, Xi called for “every possible effort to uphold social stability” while declaring the Communist Party’s ethnic autonomy system “entirely correct” and “effective.” The visit coincided with the submission of the draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress to the National People’s Congress on September 8, 2025, a measure designed to consolidate and codify Beijing’s approach. Far from fostering genuine autonomy, the law institutionalizes a framework for repression, turning “ethnic unity” into a mandate for forced assimilation, and extending mechanisms of cultural erasure both within China and across its diaspora communities.
On September 30, the 11th anniversary of the day when police fired tear gas at protestors during the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement protests, over a dozen police officers were deployed near Hong Kong’s government headquarters as a small number of activists held commemorations. Meanwhile, Singapore turned away Hong Kong student activist leader Nathan Law, citing “national interest” reasons. Law said he had received a visa to enter Singapore three weeks ago and that he was scheduled to attend a “closed-door, invitation-only” event in the Southeast Asian city. He was deported after spending roughly 14 hours in Singapore and subsequently boarded a flight back to San Francisco.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Despite New Law to Facilitate Reporting of Public-Health Emergencies, COVID-Whistleblower Zhang Zhan Sentenced to Four More Years in Prison: A new law scheduled to take effect on November 1 aims to improve China’s early-warning and response system for public-health threats “by empowering individuals and allowing them to report emergencies, bypassing the government’s usual hierarchical structure.” Yet, the Chinese government continues to employ censorship, harassment, and prosecution to deter whistleblowers like Zhang Zhan who reported on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Rules in Effect November 1 – Requirements for Foreign Companies in China: The National Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Management Measures do not impose new obligations on network operators, but rather clarify and reinforce the procedural requirements already stipulated in existing laws.
China to review five-year plan at October Communist Party conclave: The plenary session to map out China’s social and economic development over the next five years will be held from October 20 to October 23, the fourth since the Party’s last congress in 2022.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
HRIC on Twitter/X: On September 19, Qi Hong, who carried out the Chongqing projection protest, received a fraudulent email impersonating Taiwan’s “Green Foundation” that invited him to participate in an online interview for significant compensation. As HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo pointed out: “This is a common tactic used by the CCP, approaching dissidents through personas that blur the line between truth and falsehood, to deceive them into revealing personal information. No matter how ‘legitimate’ the invitation appears, one must remain highly vigilant, verify the organization’s identity, and avoid clicking links easily.”
HRIC on LinkedIn: On September 5, 2025, China launched the world’s first prototype “Satellite Internet Firewall,” developed by Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. The payload integrates AI-driven anomaly detection, on-board inspection, large-model autonomous decision-making, and even intelligent deception—a system of decoys designed to lure, misdirect, and study attackers. Alongside its ability to filter vast volumes of traffic, this system provides real-time protection for both the hardware and the data flows of satellite internet.
China launches campaign to keep killjoys off the internet: The Cyberspace Administration of China has launched a two-month campaign to curb social media posts that “excessively exaggerate negative and pessimistic sentiments” in order to “rectify negative emotions” and “create a more civilised and rational online environment.” While framed as safeguarding harmony, the initiative reflects Beijing’s effort to engineer public mood itself, erasing not just dissent but the legitimacy of ordinary disaffection in a slowing, uncertain economy.
Related: Translations: “Lying Down” Vloggers Banned for Espousing the Simple Life. Some popular social media accounts that promoted frugal, less ambitious, low-consumption lifestyles have recently been deplatformed for “violating platform rules and regulations,” but it is widely believed that their ethos clashed with central government policies promoting marriage, childbirth, homebuying, consumption, and relentless hard work and sacrifice. Under the crackdown against “negativity,” personal choices which deviate from the Party’s vision of productivity are recast as ideological threats.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Circumventing China’s Great Firewall is becoming more difficult as “walls within walls” proliferate. New developments create layered vulnerabilities, where a lapse in any device, account or network risks exposure of personal information.
Netizen Voices: AI Straight-washes Gay Couple in Imported Horror Movie “Together” [Updated: Film Withdrawn]: When “Together” was initially released in China, the film, which featured a scene depicting a same-sex wedding, had digitally replaced one male character with a woman. Many have expressed fear that the face-swapping heralds a new wave of less-readily detected censorship that uses advanced AI to simply rewrite reality.
China’s DeepSeek releases ‘intermediate’ AI model on route to next generation: DeepSeek’s latest “experimental” model, DeepSeek-V3.2-Exp, is said to be more efficient to train and better at processing long sequences of text than previous iterations of its large language models.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Chinese student known for pro-Tibet activism overseas is detained while visiting China: According to friends, Zhang Yadi, a Chinese student who became a vocal advocate for Tibet while living in Europe, was detained by state security officers from Changsha in July on her way to join a group tour of Tibetan temples. This is the latest case in which a Chinese national has been detained over speech made overseas.
Umbrella Eleven | Hong Kong people rally again on September 28th to oppose China’s super embassy: On the 11th anniversary of the Umbrella Movement, several Hong Kong groups held a sixth demonstration against China’s planned “super embassy” in London, with many carrying yellow or black umbrellas. The Hong Kong diaspora is one of several communities who fear the embassy will enhance the CCP’s ability to carry out transnational repression on British soil.
The Tibetan Youth Congress called on the United Nations to pay attention to the Tibetan issue on the occasion of the 80th UN General Assembly: Members of the Tibetan Youth Congress from New York and New Jersey held a protest outside the United Nations headquarters on September 27, calling on UN member states to support Tibet, while holding Tibetan flags and banners with various slogans like “Free Tibet,” “Tibetan Independence,” and “Get Out of Tibet!”
Tibetans, supporters in Brussels rally for peace and compassion to honour Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday: Over 70 Tibetans and supporters cycled through the streets of Brussels in a peace and compassion rally commemorating the Year of Compassion and the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
HRIC Mourns the Passing of Jerome A. Cohen, Pioneer of Chinese Law and Steadfast Ally of Human Rights: Professor Jerome Alan Cohen, 95, was a pioneer in Chinese legal studies and a mentor to generations of young Chinese and American lawyers who tirelessly promoted rule of law in China through education and dialogue with Chinese lawyers and officials.
Hong Kong’s largest LGBTQ event Pink Dot to go online after losing usual West Kowloon venue: Pink Dot said its 2025 event, originally set to be held at the art hub in October, will instead take the form of a virtual concert from 3pm to 6pm on November 2.
Hong Kong’s registered voters drop for 4th straight year ahead of ‘patriots-only’ legislative elections: A total of 4,138,992 people are registered as voters in Hong Kong, a drop for the fourth consecutive year and a decrease of about 330,000 compared with the peak level in 2021.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China Index: DoubleThink Lab, a Taiwan-based non-profit, has released the latest edition of its China Index, assessing and ranking PRC influence in 101 countries across nine domains: Academia, Domestic Politics, Economy, Foreign Policy, Law Enforcement, Media, Military, Society, and Technology.
Fake Bylines, Cognitive Warfare, and 3 AI Tips from FT Chinese: The author contends that with the U.S. retreating from global leadership, China will “inevitably fill the void and promote its own model of foreign aid,” arguing that this pattern is already emerging in the media space and that Southeast Asia in particular is a critical front.
How China promotes its language and culture in Africa: Beijing has been investing heavily in worldwide cultural expansion, with Africa as a central focus. Confucius Institutes, with politically vetted teachers, offer Mandarin language and cultural courses in 49 countries across the continent. Framed as educational exchange, the initiative is part of a strategy which expands Beijing’s economic influence and soft power, and embeds CCP narratives in African schools.
International Responses 国际反应
Lawmakers and activists call for action after AP reveals US tech role in China’s surveillance state: U.S. lawmakers including Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri have called for summoning tech companies before Congress to address how their technology exports were used. Civil society groups also echoed the call for American tech companies to exit the Chinese market, where their technologies have been deployed to enhance state surveillance systems.
Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership: Trump’s order will enable an American-led of group of investors to buy the app from China’s ByteDance, though the deal is not yet finalized and also requires Beijing’s approval.
Related: Trump allies to control TikTok under new US deal, cutting China ownership to 20%. The US version of the app would reportedly be run by U.S.-based investors including Larry Ellison, the founder of cloud giant Oracle, tech investor Michael Dell and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
Related: Chair of a House committee on China demands urgent White House briefing on TikTok deal.
Taiwan convicts four former ruling party officials of spying for China: Of the four, one of them was a former aide to Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te, and another was a senior staffer to Joseph Wu, then foreign minister and now national security chief.
英國最大能源公司與中國風電巨頭合作 再惹國安疑慮 [Britain’s largest energy company’s partnership with a Chinese wind power giant has again raised concerns among national security officials.]: Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest energy supplier, announced in mid-September that it would collaborate with Chinese state-connected Ming Yang Smart Energy Group to promote wind power generation. While the move may lower energy prices, it has also raised concerns over security vulnerabilities and forced labor. Nikkei Asia reported that Ming Yang contracts with Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which is sanctioned by the UK and other countries, and may have violated the UK government’s prohibition on forced labor in corporate supply chains.
US expands export blacklist in crackdown on Chinese subsidiaries: The change will most significantly impact Chinese entities. Factories that produce older, less sophisticated chips may be affected, as well as other sectors, including aircraft and medical equipment.