HRIC Weekly Brief
January 20, 2026
Top News 头条
A recent investigation by Graphika, a network analysis firm, revealed a sophisticated Chinese disinformation ecosystem that relies on impersonating legitimate, trusted platforms. 43 domains have been discovered to be impersonating the New York Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets, forming an elaborate deception network where operators copied source code directly from legitimate sites to create convincing replicas. All infrastructure is China-based, linked to 30 companies and tied to HaiEnergy, a previously documented campaign run by Chinese public relations firm Shanghai Haixun Technology that operated 72 fake news sites globally, even financing staged protests in Washington D.C. By embedding propaganda within commercial services, China achieves plausible deniability, massive scale, and precision audience targeting.
Despite dozens of protests, some drawing thousands, the UK government has approved the building of China’s ‘mega embassy’ in London. Opponents say the 20,000 square-meter Chinese Embassy complex, near London’s financial district and close to crucial data cables, will be used as a base for espionage and for the surveillance and intimidation of Chinese dissidents in exile. Professor Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, said the saga reflected a UK government that was “hot and cold on China.”
Law & Policy 法律与政策
Compliance Audit for the Protection of the Personal Information of Minors Due January 31: A minors’ personal information protection audit is now required under Cyberspace Administration of China’s regulations. This mandate is based on the Personal Information Protection Law and related measures, targeting companies that process data of individuals under the age of 18.
Alien Chat: China’s 1st Case of Criminal Responsibility for AI-Generated Content: In a case that has serious implications for individual legal responsibility for AI-generated content, the operators of an AI chatbot are seeking to overturn their convictions for “producing obscene materials” after their chatbot held explicit conversations with users.
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
Fake Website Launched to Impersonate Campaign for Uyghurs, Raising Cybersecurity Concerns: There have been similar tactics used against Uyghur organizations and diaspora networks in the past: such impersonation domains are commonly used to harvest personal information, misdirect donations, distribute malicious files, or conduct information-gathering operations against activists and supporters.
China’s Uyghur Surveillance Technology Used by Iran to Track Protesters: According to a report by Newsweek, Chinese companies like Tiandy, a Tianjin-based tech giant, are systematically exporting the “digital repression model” they previously tested against Uyghurs to Iran.
Zhou Fengsuo on Twitter/X: HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo joined a team at last weekend’s “AI Hack for Freedom,” a hackathon organized by Human Rights Foundation to promote empowering, anti-authoritarian AI technologies.
CDT 2025 Year-End Roundup: Person of the Year – Silenced Livestreamer Hu Chenfeng: Hu’s influence in China’s current online ecosystem came down to his ability to navigate the few loopholes that remain, showing how an ordinary person can speak out, change tack, retreat, and speak out yet again despite the pressures of censorship, algorithms, public opinion, and commercial interests.
CDT 2025 Year-End Roundup: Notable Reports: Notable topics last year included online censorship systems; the relationship between censorship and “stability maintenance”; the increasing use of AI in shoring up digital totalitarianism; the role of Western tech companies in Chinese censorship and surveillance; and the export and diffusion of censorship tools and norms.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
China pressing European countries to bar Taiwan politicians or face crossing a ‘red line’: Chinese officials have been pushing “legal advice” on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians. Some of the said “advice” has been made to individual countries and groups, while others are by written note verbale (a semiformal diplomatic communication) or in person.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Ghojaniyaz Yollugh Tekin, Uyghur Historian Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison: Tekin’s imprisonment in late 2018 was reportedly linked to his writings and statements emphasizing that Uyghurs are part of the broader Turkic world. Subsequently, he was labeled a “stubborn separatist” for continuing his research and advocacy on Uyghur history.
The Chinese website Kongfuzi Old Books Network has removed several books related to the history of Tibetan culture. Weiquanwang (a Chinese rights website) argues that this move exposes the CCP’s fear of covering up history.: The removed books include: “The Fall of the Lama Kingdom” by American expert Melvyn C. Goldstein; “A True Account of the Suppression of the Tibetan Rebellion” by Ji Youquan, a former member of the Political Department of the Tibet Military Region; and “A Journey to Tibet” by Japanese author Tada Tokan.
Workers at Chinese factory that produces Labubu toys are being exploited, says NGO: According to an investigation by China Labor Watch, one of Pop Mart’s suppliers for Labubus has engaged in exploitative workplace practices that include workers being forced to sign blank contracts, 16- and 17-year-olds being employed without the special protections for young workers required by Chinese law, and inadequate health and safety training.
Related: Labubu, Unboxed: The Labor Behind the Global Toy Phenomenon. China Labor Watch called on Pop Mart to take immediate action to correct labor violations in its supply chain, compensate affected workers, and ensure that future production complies with Chinese labor law and internationally recognized labor standards.
Shanghai’s Last Newsstand: As Shanghai’s once-ubiquitous newsstands have nearly all shuttered, the Chinese media has picked up stories related to the government’s new push for reading. However, “The National Reading Promotion Regulations also require that publishers and digital platforms ‘enhance content management’ and provide ‘state-approved high-quality content,’ language pointing to tightening controls over what can be published at all.”
Life sentence looms for media tycoon Jimmy Lai: Lai’s conviction of collusion and sedition offenses marks the highest-profile example of the clampdown on media freedoms in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020.
Related: Calls to free pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai go against rule of law, says Hong Kong’s top judge. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said such demands “strike at the very heart of the rule of law.” Cheung also said calls to “prematurely release a defendant” would circumvent the legal process designed for ensuring accountability under the law.
Detained Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung loses legal challenge of no-shorts rule for female inmates: Chow was challenging a rule that requires females in custody to wear trousers in the summer, while males are allowed to wear shorts. The Correctional Services Department’s stance was that this was due to “inherent differences” between men and women.
Ex-legislator Eddie Chu released from prison after serving 4.5-year jail term over national security offence: Following Chu’s release, there are still 30 democrats convicted in the case that are serving time in prison. The activists handed the longest jail terms are expected to be released in 2032.
Forever Hong Kong: A Conversation with Ching Kwan Lee: This theory-driven analysis of Hongkongers’ struggle for self-determination delves into the historical conditions that precipitated the citywide revolt in 2019 and Hongkongers’ political resistance as acts of decolonial defiance.
Two more college student unions at Chinese University of Hong Kong cease operations: The Chung Chi College Student Union announced its suspension, saying that all of its members had decided to resign from the student body. Lee Woo Sing College’s student union announced its suspension a day earlier.
4 movies ‘disappear’ from Hong Kong Film Awards’ contenders list: No explanation was given for the films’ removal, sparking censorship concerns. An eligible voter said: “I had a feeling that [the disqualifications] were related to particular individuals in the cast or crew of those films.”
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
Annual Gathering of the Tiananmen Mothers Prevented by Government for the First Time: The annual New Year’s gathering of the Tiananmen Mothers group was, for the first time, unreasonably obstructed by the government and prevented from taking place. The gathering was originally scheduled for December 28, 2025, at a restaurant in Chongwenmen, Beijing, to celebrate the New Year and the Spring Festival.
Laying Siege to Faith in the Digital Age: “Over the past thirty years of religious governance practices in China. . . the enforcement power was mainly in the hands of local party committees and public security systems, with the central government playing more of a policy-setting and tacit approval role. In contrast, this nationwide coordinated action across multiple provinces and cities, with simultaneous timing and centralized detention locations, can almost certainly be attributed not to the spontaneous actions of local governments, but to the coordinated design of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership.”
International Responses 国际反应
Canada PM hails strategic partnership with China to adapt to ‘new global realities’: The first visit by a Canadian leader in eight years set a friendly tone, despite rights groups pushing Carney to address human rights concerns. Canada and China reached a preliminary trade deal aimed at reducing tariffs, including a commitment to import 49,000 electric vehicles from China at preferential tariff rates.
Congress approves $653 million for VoA, RFA and other USAGM broadcasters: The U.S. congressional decision marks a clear rejection of the Trump administration’s push to defund and ultimately dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Current Events 热点新闻
China’s population falls again as births drop to lowest rate since 1949 communist revolution: Despite recent policy changes aimed at pushing families to have more children, birth rates have continued to drop. In addition to major structural issues, this phenomenon also reflects young people’s financial struggles, skepticism towards the future, and shifting expectations.