Top News 头条
The Pretoria-area residence and office of Dalai Lama representative Dhundup Gyalpo was attacked with petrol bombs on October 14, causing extensive damage. He escaped through a bedroom window and reportedly sustained minor injuries from broken glass. The property had previously been attacked on July 6. Tibetan rights groups have raised concerns about transnational repression, but the police are still investigating.
Reports raise concerns over the health of political prisoners: Feng Rui (pen name Xiao Wu), editor of labor outlet Chiapas Dongfeng TV who was detained in Guangzhou on September 14 for “picking quarrels” after his team published a 200-page annual labor-rights review, has reportedly fallen ill from lengthy interrogations. Furthermore, Wang Yi, pastor of Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church who is currently serving a nine year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations,” is reported to have advanced liver cancer. Wang Yi has been allowed only five family visits during nearly eight years in custody. The authorities must urgently allow his family to visit him, provide his family with reliable medical information, and ensure he receives appropriate medical care.
Several recent cases have highlighted the push for “national security” among students. In the mainland, Harbin Engineering University warned 20 students (7 undergraduates, 13 graduates) for using unauthorized VPNs, reportedly after a classmate informed on them, sparking commentary on a resurgence of “informer culture.” Tibetan university students report being forced to sign statements swearing their opposition to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration. And in Hong Kong, a new national security platform from the police aimed at school pupils was launched on October 6 to about 700 students. The “NSmarties” platform lets children generate personalized stories on Xi Jinping’s “holistic approach to national security,” and features voices of the Hong Kong police commissioner and security chief.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
China moves to curb tech exports, including AI, citing national security risks: China’s commerce ministry proposed restricting or banning exports of 40 technologies spanning AI, chips and solar, citing national security. Exports of AI models trained on sensitive national data and defense-focused AI agents would be banned, and models with 2 trillion or more parameters could be restricted.
Paralysed in a crash between orders, Keeta rider’s case exposes ‘major loophole’ in proposed gig work laws: Hong Kong’s labor authorities have proposed new legislation purportedly to protect the gig economy’s platform workers, but which labor advocates say would in fact be “even narrower in scope than delivery firms’ existing insurance coverage.” A courier who crashed between orders and was left paralyzed would not be protected, as the proposed scheme would only cover riders from the moment they set off to collect an order until delivery or cancellation.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Starting November 1, China’s enterprises that fail to pay social insurance contributions will face fines of up to three times the amount owed. The State Taxation Administration recently released the “National Tax Administrative Penalty Discretion Standards (2026 Edition)”, which for the first time incorporates social insurance fees into a unified national tax administrative penalty discretion system.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
HRIC Digital Rights Report - September 2026: HRIC’s monthly digital rights roundup covers Anthropic’s disclosure of a PRC-aligned operation that used Claude to compile dossiers on religious and diaspora groups, and Hong Kong’s planned “AI City Brain,” whose integration with police platforms HRIC says raises monitoring concerns. It also covers censorship and AI-labelling campaigns, phishing aimed at activists, and Chinese AI-propaganda simulators.
‘Super app’ aimed at UK students uses servers owned by Chinese firm on US blacklist: “ZyMix, which is being pushed on university campuses as the UK’s first super app designed ‘for gen Z’, combining chat, payments and community features, has a contract with a German-based subsidiary of Tencent Holdings,” the Guardian reports. Tencent was recently put on a list of firms that the U.S. government alleges work closely with the Chinese military.
China-linked hackers hit Fiji: US embassy: China-linked hackers reportedly kept access to the network of an unnamed Suva-based regional organization for several days between July and August. The report frames the breach as part of wider targeting of Pacific governments and telecoms, while China’s embassy rejected the claim as evidence-free politicization.
DeepSeek barred from government agency IT systems: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered civilian federal agencies to strip DeepSeek products from their IT systems and stop buying them, including third-party tools built on its models. The order went out quietly in July and was published October 19 under the 2018 Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act, apparently its first use against an AI company. DHS cited risks including collection of personal data, user fingerprinting, possible malware, and “transfer of sensitive data to the PRC.”
What’s the impact of China’s influence on the gaming industry?: Chinese game companies are increasingly shaping the global industry. Yet, games developed from within China face strict censorship and Chinese gamers must register using their real names, which allows monitoring of in-game communications.
Dalai Lama’s birthday, politically sensitive events used to target Tibetans online, TibCERT warns.: TibCERT documented two China-linked campaigns around the Dalai Lama’s 91st birthday: a Mustang Panda–linked email campaign delivering the LOTUSLITE backdoor, and a compromised Tibetan website that profiled visitors and served malware. Lures used themes like the Ethnic Unity Law and Lobga Rangzen’s self-immolation. TibCERT logged 49 incidents in the quarter.
Translation: Why Isn’t it “Foreign Interference” When They Praise China?: A WeChat post questions why foreign influencers’ praise escapes the scrutiny applied to foreign criticism, noting Hainan budgeted ¥894,000 to bring foreign creators on promotional trips in 2026. It argues paid, algorithm-boosted “positive energy” content shouldn’t be used to dismiss Chinese people’s own experiences.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
HRIC on Twitter/X: BEA’s London branch canceled a payment from HRIC to a third party in September, raising questions about the extraterritorial reach of China’s political sanctions and the responsibilities of financial institutions operating under UK regulation.
HRIC on Twitter/X: According to Voice of America, Yang Yiming, a reporter stationed in Prague for the Chinese state media outlet Guangming Daily, stood trial at the Prague City Court on October 14 on charges of “engaging in unauthorized activities for foreign powers.” The 32-year-old Yang was arrested by Czech police on January 17 this year and is the first person in the Czech Republic to be prosecuted under Section 318a of the Criminal Code.
The Silent Reach of Chinese Intelligence in Taiwan: An opinion piece by a former Tibetan diplomat cites a pilgrim who says she was stopped at a Mount Kailash checkpoint and shown photos of her at a CTA reception in Taipei. He argues that this case demonstrates how Beijing surveils exiles and civil society even in Taiwan and urges counter-intelligence awareness and cooperation with Taipei.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
“Not Our Business”: Sun Meihua, a Beijing woman with schizophrenia who vanished in 2000, was found in a Shandong village in September. Online discussion of her case was swiftly scrubbed. Unlike the 2022 “chained woman” case, authorities issued no statement, and police reportedly said moving her was “not their business.”
Taiwanese Nurse Describes Intense Interrogation During Tibet Visit: A Taiwanese nurse surnamed Lin stated that Chinese officials, one a state security officer, questioned him on a hotel balcony during a tour to Tibet about his military service, political views and hospital work. They also asked whether he would be willing to support unification with China in exchange for a higher salary. Lin says the experience has made him reluctant to return. Three of his tour group’s eight members were questioned.
Chinese authorities force closure of Tibetan girls’ school in Amdo Golog: The Prairie Talent Girls’ School, founded in 2005 by monk Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen to educate nomad girls, was permanently closed on August 27 and renamed Ragya Town Girls’ Middle School under a “privately run, publicly funded” arrangement. Its founder’s vocational school was shut in July 2024, and former students shared grief online.
Former Qinghai monastery abbot jailed over Dalai Lama prayers, photos, teachings: Lobsang Tenpa, former abbot of Ragya Monastery, was sentenced to five years in prison after a secret trial around October 5, following an August police raid that found photos of the Dalai Lama and a thumb drive of his speeches. He had earlier been detained in 2025 for leading Dalai Lama long-life prayers, but nothing is known of his formal charges or legal representation.
61-year-old gets 3-month hospital order after displaying colonial flag, ‘seditious’ slogans outside flat: Yang Chau-kei, who is 61 and diagnosed with schizophrenia, got a three-month hospital order after being convicted of displaying colonial flags and protest slogans outside her Tin Shui Wai flat in 2024. The magistrate found cumulative intent to challenge China’s sovereignty, though she said she assumed security staff would remove the items.
Frozen Out: Boom News founder Tang Ho-wing, arrested September 30 on suspected sedition over a video of the Prince Edward commemoration and bailed October 2, says that all of his bank accounts were frozen without a formal order, and is now living on cash and cannot even find delivery work. The HKJA warned that frontline journalists face similar risks.
Political commentator charged with revealing nat. security probe says police gave no confidentiality warning: Wong Kwok-ngon (Wong On-yin), 72, the first person tried for disclosing details of a national security investigation, told the District Court that the details of his police meeting were already public before he spoke about the matter on YouTube.
Hong Kong Pride event axed due to ‘booking overlap,’ marking group’s 2nd consecutive venue cancellation: The Hong Kong Pride Parade committee’s November 14 Rainbow Market at Central Market was cancelled after the venue said it “could no longer host it,” a month after the group paid a deposit. This incident follows the Pink Dot carnival’s cancellations in 2025 and 2026 over venue and licensing problems.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
China sentences three people to death for running Myanmar scam centres: A Fujian court sentenced Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang to death for the “Wei family” gang’s 14 scam compounds in Myanmar’s Kokang region. Three others were given life sentences and 55 received sentences of 3 to 24 years.
China seeks deeper security and intelligence cooperation with Tajikistan: On October 19, Premier Li Qiang called for stronger law enforcement cooperation and intelligence sharing with Tajikistan, invoking Beijing’s campaign against terrorism, separatism and extremism. For human rights advocates, the proposed cooperation warrants scrutiny of its implications for Uyghurs and others at risk of cross-border surveillance or forced return.
A Vanishing Debate: A 13-minute exchange at China’s Taiwan Affairs Office’s September 30 press conference between a TAO spokesperson and Taiwanese journalists over the Flying Tigers, Chiang Kai-shek and the ROC constitution was cut from the official “full transcripts” released by the TAO and People’s Daily.
USALI This Week in Asian Law: The Hong Kong government renewed the free-to-air television licenses of TVB, HKTVE, and i-Cable HOY for the next twelve years. The renewal terms require the stations to produce more English-language national education programs and programs aimed at “telling good stories” about Hong Kong.
International Responses 国际反应
Taiwan says drives away 16 Chinese ships involved in ‘maritime harassment’: On October 18, Taiwan’s coast guard said it drove away 16 Chinese vessels (12 official coast guard and research ships plus four fishing boats) running simultaneous operations off its east, south and southwest coasts and around Pratas. The coast guard called it “hybrid warfare.”
Philippines summons Chinese ambassador to protest remarks it says threatened force: Ambassador Jing Quan said China “may easily win” a conflict with the Philippines but “will not use force.” Manila called it a “thinly veiled threat” and moved to summon Jing, while the Chinese embassy said he was selectively quoted.