William Nee

China's new model of social governance merges Mao-era grassroots mobilization with digital surveillance and party-led service delivery. Nis Grünberg, Katja Drinhausen and Alexander Davey explore how China’s Communist Party is reinserting itself into daily life: merics.org/en/report/se...

Labor activist #LiWangyang died under suspicious circumstances 13 years ago today while under police surveillance in Hunan province. A labor leader in the #Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, he is one of the figures our statement pays tribute to:
🔖 www.nchrd.org/2025/06/on-t...

Rubio outlines plans to drastically cut human rights offices in State The cuts are part of a Trump administration plan to overhaul State, outlined in internal documents.

Exclusive: Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to gut the State Department’s human rights bureau as part of a sweeping reorganization of the country’s diplomatic service, according to internal department documents and people familiar with the plans.

How Will the Trump Presidency Change EU-China Relations? Over the past few years, European countries have started to line up with the United States on China policy. But now, as Donald Trump destroys the trust European countries had in America, China is step...

How Will the Trump Presidency Change EU-China Relations?

Very happy to join this @chinafile.bsky.social conversation together with a stellar lineup of great colleagues.

Thank you @goldkorn.bsky.social & @neysunm.bsky.social for putting it together!
www.chinafile.com/conversation...

Hong Kong Democratic Party to Disband; Amnesty International Hong Kong Office Opens Abroad The latest political development in Hong Kong underscores the extent to which authorities have cleansed the city of democracy. On Sunday, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong’s last remaining opposition pa...

Hong Kong Democratic Party to Disband; Amnesty International Hong Kong Office Opens Abroad
"Chinese officials or middlemen had warned [Democratic Party leaders] to disband or face serious consequences, including possible arrests."

US bans government personnel in China from romantic or sexual relations with Chinese citizens The U.S. government has banned American government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citize...

apnews.com/article/chin...

Yikes…

The AP was unable to determine exactly how the policy defined the phrase “romantic or sexual relationship.”

Well, this is to say nothing regarding what DOGE is doing, but unfortunately much of the reporting on China’s social credit system has been poorly done, or is more sci-fi than real. See:

www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/social-cr... via @chinalawtranslate.bsky.social

Death Row inmate deserves new trial, ex-US Senator, former Alabama AG urge in ‘unusual’ request In a brief filed Wednesday, 10 former Alabama prosecutors signed on asking a Jefferson County judge to grant a new trial in the 1995 case.

www.al.com/news/birming...

New Zealand’s stark choice: navigating uncharted waters OPINION: New Zealand has never looked more isolated.

NZ has never looked more isolated. The rules-based international order is being vaporised. The alliances that guaranteed NZ security since the end of WWII are finished. A new order is forming in Europe, but NZ is not yet named among the like-minded states. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

Jailed HRDs #QuanShixin & #ShiTingfu receive the 11th Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders. 🌹
Quan, a land rights defender, & Shi, a pro-democracy activist, are both sentenced for “picking quarrels”—a charge often used to silence critics.
🏆 www.nchrd.org/2025/03/winn...

Now out! New report from our colleagues @amnesty.org on the abuse of electric shock equipment around the world. We were pleased to share technical & policy analysis, as well as our expertise on the trade in law enforcement equipment.
Read this important publication here 👇

China’s System of Mass Arbitrary Detention New research analyzing 1,545 prison sentences echoes U.N. concerns that arbitrary detentions “may constitute crimes against humanity.”

China’s System of Mass Arbitrary Detention

New research analyzing 1,545 prison sentences echoes U.N. concerns that arbitrary detentions “may constitute crimes against humanity.”

thediplomat.com/2025/03/chin...

America’s Enemies Are Rooting for the Death of the National Endowment for Democracy | National Review Some of the loudest voices applauding NED’s struggles are those who wish to see freedom fail. That should tell us everything we need to know.

Some of the loudest voices applauding NED’s struggles are those who wish to see freedom fail. That should tell us everything we need to know.

www.nationalreview.com/2025/02/amer...

A Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Mandalay was stabbed to death by a group of armed men in Kangyi Taw Village, Shwebo Township, in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar/Burma on 14 February.

#LuSiwei, the human rights lawyer extradited to #China from Laos, is barred from communication from detention with his family, languishing with health problems due to lack of medicine and malnutrition, said his wife, citing a recent visit by Lu's lawyer.
#ArbitraryDetention #Torture

👉New study looks into whether political repression "works":

"Despite political tightening under Xi, we find evidence for increased frequency, larger size, and pluralization of grievances for protests during his rule." Much of like the 2022 White Paper protests - it started as Covid and snowballed.

UK MPs repeatedly questioned whether Shein’s products are made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. Yinan Zhu, Shein’s lawyer in London, refused to answer. This evasive response raises serious concerns about Shein's transparency and accountability.

parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

BYD, “Slave-gate” and the soul search about China’s cutthroat industrial model The EV maker’s labor rights scandal in Brazil adds fodder to an ongoing debate about China’s industrial prosperity that appears to benefit few in the country

"For now, it’s the Brazilian government that is taking action on behalf of the Chinese working class." by @tianjie.bsky.social

China is building new detention centers all over the country as Xi Jinping widens corruption purge | CNN More than 200 specialized detention facilities have been built or expanded across China, a CNN investigation finds, as the Chinese leader extends his crackdown beyond the ruling Communist Party to a v...

CNN: #China has built or expanded more than 200 specialized detention facilities nationwide to interrogate suspects ensnared in Xi Jinping’s widening anti-corruption drive edition.cnn.com/2024/12/28/c...

SHEIN's expected London IPO is already steeped in controversy over alleged links to forced labour. What does the rise of its ultra-fast model mean for workers' rights?

BHRRC's KnowTheChain breaks down key issues for investors ➡️ www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/b...

There are over 1800 elderly victims documented as serving prison terms (potential death sentences).

Name: Yusupjan Mamut
Age: 55
Status: serving a 13-year, 11-month sentence (Nankou Prison), nephew also detained

shahit.biz/eng/37056/

A pioneer and a legend
Stay tuned for Jerry’s memoirs in 2025 🙌

Olga Reshetylova, Media Initiative for Human Rights | Voices of Democracy: Ukraine’s Women Leaders Olga Reshetylova is the Head of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian organisation monitoring human rights violations in the occupied territories. She is one of the seven women leading EED partner organisations featured in the short movie “Voices of Democracy: Ukraine’s Women Leaders”, which highlights how, at a time of war, many women-led organisations are leading efforts to protect human rights, safeguard free speech, and bring people together. The initiatives featured in the movie ‘Voices of Democracy: Ukraine's Women Leaders’ were supported thanks to the contributions of the European Commission and of the Government of Canada to EED.

This UN Human Rights Day Olga Reshetylova from Media Initiative for Human Rights talks about their work documenting the crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, which they plan to submit to the ICC. Defending human rights involves accountability for those who violate them. #HRD
bit.ly/4iwhMrk

Russia’s Military Found a Surprisingly Simple Way to Buy US Chips A cache of internal Russian documents reviewed by Bloomberg reveals how Putin’s forces have been able to keep purchasing American semiconductors.

In what should be no surprise to anyone, Russian distributors are using info from Texas Instruments’ online shop to purchase semiconductors for civilian & military use. Orders are routed through third-party companies in places like Hong Kong to bypass sanctions
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

December Politburo meeting ahead of the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) The headline of the readout is “CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Holds Meeting to Analyze and Research 2025 Economic Work, Study and Deploy Party Conduct, Clean Governance and Anti-Corruption Wo...

Just published outside the paywall an unofficial translation of today’s Politburo readout. There is some interesting language in it ahead of the Central Economic Work Conference later this week

open.substack.com/pub/sinocism...

Morning run view

Jimmy Lai: The Face of Hong Kong's Resistance with Mark L. Clifford YouTube video by Faithful Politics Podcast

This week, guest co-host @williamnee.bsky.social and I chat with Mark Clifford about The Troublemaker, exploring Jimmy Lai’s journey from immigrant to billionaire, his fight for democracy, and his imprisonment in China. A powerful story of resilience and freedom. Watch here: youtu.be/nf3xp08epUM

Hong Kong Politics after the National Security Law: Autocratization and Its Consequences Ortmann, Lau and Chan, together with the contributors provide an innovative assessment of the impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong politics. The law was introduced by the Chinese governmen...

Great announcement: happy to contribute to an upcoming edited volume on politics of NSL-era Hong KongMy chapter focuses on judicial independence and the rule of law in NSL-era Hong Kong. See the description of the book here. It will be out next April! www.routledge.com/Hong-Kong-Po...

Against Their Will: The Situation in Xinjiang

The US Dept of Labor's overview of Uyghur forced labor has been updated. Humbled to see that I am the most-cited author.

The conceptual accuracy of this originally very problematic page has increased, and it has become more concise and organized. Thread:
www.dol.gov/agencies/ila...