HRIC Weekly Brief
March 10, 2026
Top News 头条
The CCP’s “Two Sessions” legislative meetings will wrap up this Thursday, March 12. In addition to presenting the Party’s priorities for the upcoming year (and the next five), several new laws will receive the final rubber stamp of approval on Thursday, including the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress. Said law codifies Xi’s interpretations of national and inter-ethnic governance by affirming the dominance of Han Chinese, Party-defined ethnic majority culture and the Mandarin language while other languages and cultures are minimized and made explicitly, legally subordinate. In addition to requiring all ethnic groups to “consciously safeguard national unity, national security, and social stability,” the law also “broadly requires media, internet service providers, families, among others, to promote the Party’s ethnic policy.” Meanwhile, a new secrecy law that applies to Xinjiang specifically came into force on March 1. While China’s State Secrets Law is already strict, the new law is even more extensive and “provides new enforcement mechanisms, including travel restrictions for officials and state secret offices at local institutions,” says a Human Rights Watch researcher.
Law & Policy 法律与政策
What China’s latest economic plans say about its tech ambitions and rivalry with the US: The latest five-year plan, expected to be formally endorsed at the end of the Two Sessions legislative meetings on Thursday, sets out a timeline for China’s transformation from “low-cost manufacturing to a tech-driven economy,” including a push for self-sufficiency and faster development in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, and energy.
China releases first national standard framework for humanoid robots and embodied AI: The Humanoid Robot and Embodied Intelligence Standard System (2026 edition), a high-level document laying out guidelines for how and where standards will be set, was reportedly “unveiled at an industry standardization meeting in Beijing.”
White Paper Increases Securitization of Hong Kong: In its new White Paper, “Beijing now recasts past Hong Kong political mobilizations as national security threats, even including those that were seen as legal under the Basic Law at the time, providing justification for its hardline turn.”
Cyber Security & Digital Rights 网络安全与数字权利
HRIC on Twitter/X: A new strategy for transnational digital censorship known as “algorithmic encirclement” exploits platform rules to target anti-CCP accounts on X (Twitter): first, a large number of low-quality bot accounts follow the user. Second, when the user posts sensitive content, the lurking bot army will collectively unfollow and block within a short time (typically during Beijing working hours). Third, the massive number of “blocks” in a short period triggers X’s automatic moderation mechanism, causing the algorithm to mistakenly judge the account as seriously violating rules or being offensive, thereby removing it from recommendations or even adding it to the search blacklist.
Two Views on AI in China’s Censorship and Influence Operations: Recent research shows how Chinese generative AI tools are designed as extensions of the state’s censorship regime, and how this significantly increases their rates of inaccuracy, from around 10% to over 20%.
China’s Agentic AI Controversy: Doubao’s new AI phone “gives the embedded AI agent blanket access to the screen, all app content, and the ability to tap or click as if it were a user.” Citing security concerns, dozens of China-based apps and websites blocked the phone from accessing their services, and netizens discussed common concerns over the extent of information that could be accessed, including that of bystanders and non-users.
Censorship Is Not Deterring Global Adoption of Chinese AI: In the years since the launch of Baidu’s “Ernie,” concerns over censorship and accuracy from the global market have been partially overcome by the appeal of inexpensive and accessible models such as DeepSeek.
Netizen Voices: Why Did Comedian Xiao Pa Lose Her Weibo Account? “Oh, I See … She Just Wrote the Truth.”: Uyghur stand up comedian Xiao Pa (Paziliyaer Paerhati) had her social media accounts frozen after a joke about taking care of children while sick was deemed to violate the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) guidelines against content that “incited gender antagonism and created anxiety about marriage and childbirth.” Online, many disagreed with this finding, arguing her comment merely reflects the reality of being a Chinese wife and mother.
Diaspora Community & Transnational Repression 海外社群和跨国镇压
Italy expels 8 Chinese on national security grounds: In a landmark move towards tackling transnational repression, Italy has expelled 8 Chinese nationals on national security grounds following years of harassment, intimidation, and surveillance targeting influential dissident “Teacher Li.” For exiled activists, journalists, and researchers who have faced similar intimidation by a hostile foreign state, this is a breakthrough.
Hong Kong trade office employee, ex-British border officer accused of ‘shadow policing’ for China as UK trial begins: Peter Wai and Bill Yuen stand accused of engaging in “shadow policing operations on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” including forcing entry to an address and collecting and sharing information on persons of interest to the Hong Kong government, including pro-democracy activist Nathan Law.
Related: ‘Your inner self is red’: UK border officer accused of ‘infiltrating’ Hong Kong pro-democracy group.
London police arrest 3 men on suspicion of spying for China. One is a UK lawmaker’s husband: David Taylor, 39, Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68, were arrested last Wednesday on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service. Taylor is the husband of MP Joani Reid.
Related: Police search home of former Labour MP’s husband amid China spying investigation. Investigators have also searched the homes of Martin Shipton and James Robinson, husband of former labor MP Gloria De Piero.
Tibetans, supporters in Berlin, Taipei, Canberra gear up for 67th Tibet uprising anniversary rallies, take off on peace march in Bern: Tibetans and allies around the world held events to mark the anniversary of the March 10th Tibetan National Uprising against Chinese occupation. Events included a march in Switzerland and Taiwan, and an organized gathering at Parliament House in Australia.
Human Rights Defenders & Civil Society 人权捍卫者与公民社会
Tibetan monk sentenced to six years in prison for teaching Tibetan language: Following his detention in May 2021, Tibetan monk, Palden Yeshi, has reportedly received a six year prison sentence for teaching the Tibetan language to children. However, Chinese authorities have yet to release an official account of his charges, conviction, or current location.
HRIC on Twitter/X: On March 9, the Supreme People’s Court President Zhang Jun, in his report to the National People’s Congress, explicitly named Taiwanese editor Li Yianhe (Fu Cha), stating that he was sentenced to three years in prison for “inciting the splitting of the state and undermining national unification.”
Political Depression and the Afterlives of Neurasthenia: The term “political depression” (政治性抑郁) has become associated with a feeling of helplessness and discontent due to China’s authoritarian government. It has been compared to the old diagnosis of “Neurasthenia” (神经衰弱), which had similar symptoms to depression and was seen as a psychological consequence of the Cultural Revolution. Some human rights organizations have used this example to emphasize that mental illness results from societal problems as well as health issues.
Jimmy Lai will not appeal conviction, paving way for political negotiations over release: Media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has decided not to appeal his recent 20 year prison sentence. But as the legal process ends, political maneuvering is another method his supporters hope could lead to Lai’s release.
Ex-Apple Daily editor files appeal for sentence cut in national security case: Fung Wai-kong of Apple Daily was sentenced alongside Jimmy Lai under the Hong Kong National Security Law. Fung has chosen to appeal his prison sentence in the hopes of shortening his 10 year term.
Taiwan scholar barred from testifying in Tiananmen vigil trial over ‘irrelevant’ expertise, Hong Kong court says: Sociology professor Ho Ming-sho will not be allowed to testify in Chow Hang-tung’s trial as an expert witness, as his extensive knowledge of international democracy was deemed irrelevant to “Chinese constitutional or legal matters.”
Folding Hong Kong into the China Story: Two media news outlets from China and Hong Kong have collaborated on a video series as part of “Beijing’s ambitious plan to economically and culturally fuse” the neighboring countries and “foreground the practical rewards of integration.”
Hong Kong Arts Centre revives Asian film competition after 17-month hiatus, adds nat. security terms: New rules will require entrants to “acknowledge and agree” that they are not violating Hong Kong’s National Security Law before they can submit their work to the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) for review. This private competition is the latest to revise its operations due to the government’s increasing restrictions on speech.
China’s Reach & Internal Control 中国: 内控与外扩
More generals purged as delegates gather for China’s Two Sessions event: Three more generals have been removed as part of the CCP’s ongoing military purge, acting as a “stark reminder that political loyalty is non-negotiable and that even top generals are expendable if they displease the top leader.”
Related: China’s Xi calls for political loyalty in the military as anti-corruption purge widens.
China’s Plan to Demolish the Baytullah Mosque in Ghulja Revealed: After destroying over 16,000 mosques and counting, the Chinese authorities plan to replace the historic Baytullah Mosque with a “Chinese-style structure.”
International Responses 国际反应
UN Warns of Enforced Disappearance of 40 Uyghurs Deported to China by Thailand: A year after 40 Uyghur Muslim men were forcibly removed from Thailand to China, the United Nations has expressed concern over the lack of confirmation of their location and well-being. This act of transnational repression by the CCP has been denounced as a “blatant breach” of international human rights law.
Related: China’s silence deepens fears over disappeared Uyghur returnees a year on, warn UN experts.
USCIRF 2026 Report: China’s Genocide Against Uyghurs Escalates Into New Phase: A new report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom deems China a consistent violator of religious freedom. It especially critiques the CCP’s “sinicization of religion” policy and its severe form of genocide against the Uyghur, Kazakhs, and other Turkic peoples, drawing attention to its use of detention camps and child separation.
Related: United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2026 Annual Report.
Nepal accepts $4 million grant from China to support its upcoming election: These funds were issued with diplomatic approval from the Chinese Embassy specifically for election support, increasing China’s political and economic influence in Nepal. The downstream effects of this relationship put the country’s democracy at risk, and especially threaten the status of Tibetan refugees in the region, whose basic rights have already been targeted by Beijing for years.
Japan Urged to Adopt Law to Counter Uyghur Forced Labor: Two weeks ago, a Japanese parliamentary group announced plans to draft legislation based on the United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which would impose “stronger international measures against forced labor.”
International TSG Meeting convenes in Dharamshala with delegates from 32 countries: Over 100 delegates met as part of the gathering of Special Tibet Support Groups and unanimously adopted the “Dharamshala Declaration,” reaffirming their dedication to upholding and strengthening advocacy for the Tibetan people.