The World for Freedom

New technology-security rules give authorities greater power to prevent citizens from leaving the country when officials consider them a potential threat to national technology or industrial security. The regulations broaden restrictions on personal movement for people accused of violating export-control or technology rules. Source: (Full article...)

A new ethnic-unity law promotes a shared national identity among the country's ethnic groups while giving Mandarin greater priority in education and public life. Critics said the measure could further weaken Tibetan, Uyghur, Mongolian and other minority languages and cultures and expose resistance to assimilation policies to accusations of separatism. Source: (Full article...)

United Nations experts reported a persistent pattern of alleged forced labor affecting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Tibetans in Xinjiang and other parts of the country, warning that some practices could amount to enslavement. Beijing rejected the allegations and defended its labor and human-rights policies. Source: (Full article...)

Six members of the Early Rain Covenant Church were detained in a renewed crackdown on unregistered Christianity. Reuters reported that more than 100 Christians from house churches had also been detained near Wenzhou in December as restrictions continued tightening on religious groups operating outside state control. Source: (Full article...)

Former Huarong International executive Bai Tianhui was executed after being convicted of accepting about 1.1 billion yuan in bribes. The punishment formed part of President Xi Jinping's continuing anti-corruption campaign and demonstrated the state's continued use of capital punishment in major economic and corruption cases. Source: (Full article...)

Eighteen leaders of the Zion Church were formally arrested following a nationwide police operation against the unofficial Christian congregation. They were accused of illegally using information networks, while recently introduced religious regulations restricted unauthorized online preaching, religious training and foreign religious connections. Source: (Full article...)

Nearly 30 pastors and church members associated with Zion Church were detained in one of the country's largest crackdowns on Christians in years. The congregation operates independently of Communist Party-controlled religious institutions, and supporters said worshippers were also questioned and services disrupted. Source: (Full article...)

Broad national-security and public-order offenses are systematically being used by courts against human-rights defenders, according to Amnesty International. Its review of official judicial documents found activists, journalists, lawyers and ordinary citizens prosecuted for peaceful speech, association and contacts with people outside the country. Source: (Full article...)

The national internet regulator launched a campaign against online material considered hostile, inflammatory or excessively pessimistic. Authorities said posts suggesting that hard work or studying is useless and comments expressing bleak views of life could face scrutiny alongside rumors and other prohibited material. Source: (Full article...)

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan received another four-year prison sentence after previously serving four years for reporting from Wuhan during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Press-freedom groups said the latest prosecution followed her reporting and comments on human-rights abuses and condemned the case as persecution of journalism. Source: (Full article...)

A student activist studying in France was detained while visiting her home country and investigated on suspicion of inciting separatism after supporting Tibetan rights. Friends and a human-rights organization said she had been held for almost two months, highlighting the risks faced by citizens engaged in politically sensitive advocacy. Source: (Full article...)

Uyghur residents in Xinjiang were warned that listening to, storing or sharing certain Uyghur-language songs could lead to detention, according to an Associated Press investigation. The restrictions reached into cultural and religious expression and were accompanied by phone inspections and pressure to avoid some Islamic expressions. Source: (Full article...)

Families of detainees in Xinjiang continue to report separation, intimidation and uncertainty years after a United Nations assessment documented serious human-rights violations in the region. Amnesty International said repressive laws and policies remain in place and relatives seeking information continue to face pressure. Source: (Full article...)

An Associated Press investigation described a vast surveillance system capable of combining phone records, messages, payments, travel information, video footage, DNA data and other information about citizens. Predictive-policing tools have been used to identify people deemed suspicious and to support intensive monitoring in Xinjiang and elsewhere. Source: (Full article...)

Human-rights lawyers targeted during the 2015 '709' crackdown continue to face imprisonment, surveillance, harassment and restrictions affecting their families, according to Amnesty International and other organizations. More than 300 lawyers and activists were questioned, detained or otherwise targeted during the original operation. Source: (Full article...)

Security and checkpoints around Tiananmen Square were increased on the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown while discussion of the event remained absent from heavily censored social media. Public commemoration of the killings continues to be prohibited on the mainland. Source: (Full article...)

Foreign access to Tibetan areas remains heavily restricted, prompting the United States to impose visa restrictions on officials involved in limiting entry to the region. Rights advocates have long alleged restrictions on religious, cultural and political freedoms in Tibet, while Beijing says its policies protect stability and development. Source: (Full article...)

Filmmaker Chen Pinlin was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after producing a documentary about the 2022 White Paper demonstrations against strict COVID controls and censorship. Those demonstrations became one of the largest public displays of dissent in the country since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Source: (Full article...)

Veteran journalist Dong Yuyu received a seven-year prison sentence for espionage after meeting diplomats and journalists as part of his professional work. His family called the verdict a grave injustice and warned that treating ordinary contact with foreign diplomats as espionage could intimidate other journalists and citizens. Source: (Full article...)

Former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and illegal loan issuance. If no further crime is committed during the reprieve, such a sentence is generally converted rather than carried out, normally becoming life imprisonment. Source: (Full article...)

A former state-agency employee received a rare death sentence after being convicted of providing state secrets to foreign intelligence services. The case illustrated the extreme penalties available under the country's expanding national-security framework. Source: (Full article...)

Prominent human-rights lawyer Yu Wensheng was sentenced to three years in prison and his wife, Xu Yan, to one year and nine months. The couple had been detained while traveling to meet European Union diplomats, and foreign governments and rights organizations criticized their imprisonment. Source: (Full article...)

Former People's Bank of China deputy governor Fan Yifei received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve after being convicted of accepting hundreds of millions of yuan in bribes. The punishment was imposed amid an extensive anti-corruption campaign across the financial system. Source: (Full article...)

Billionaire farmer Sun Dawu continued challenging an 18-year prison sentence while members of his family and senior company executives also faced imprisonment. Reuters described the case as part of a broader tightening of state control over influential private entrepreneurs, particularly those with independent social or political influence. Source: (Full article...)

Detailed new rules expanded implementation of the state-secrets system, allowing employees entrusted with classified information to be prevented from leaving the country without approval. Strict procedures also apply when personnel leave sensitive jobs, extending official control over both information and personal movement. Source: (Full article...)

Independent journalist and prominent #MeToo activist Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison for subversion of state power, while labor activist Wang Jianbing received three years and six months. Supporters said meetings where young people discussed social issues were treated by authorities as evidence against them. Source: (Full article...)

Security around Tiananmen Square was tightened for the 35th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown. Reuters reported that users of some social-media platforms were unable to change profile photographs, a restriction capable of preventing symbolic memorial images such as candles from appearing online. Source: (Full article...)

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan completed a four-year prison term imposed after she traveled to Wuhan and published first-hand accounts of the early COVID-19 outbreak. Her lawyers said she had gone on hunger strike and was force-fed while imprisoned, while rights groups remained concerned about surveillance and pressure following her release. Source: (Full article...)

A revised State Secrets Law broadened the framework governing protected information and introduced a category of 'work secrets.' The changes increased official authority over information, organizations and personnel and raised concerns that broad definitions could discourage whistleblowers and independent investigation. Source: (Full article...)

State employees and workers in sensitive industries faced tighter overseas-travel restrictions, including passport collection and requirements to obtain approval before foreign trips. The measures accompanied broader anti-espionage rules and government efforts encouraging citizens to participate in national-security monitoring. Source: (Full article...)