CHINA

The following information is based on the Amnesty International Report 2022/23. This report documented the human rights situation in 149 countries in 2022, as well as providing global and regional analysis. It presents Amnesty International’s concerns and calls for action to governments and others. Severe Covid-19 restrictions in some cases undermined the right to health and adequate food. The government continued to stifle criticism of its policies and actions and discussion of topics considered sensitive through increasingly pervasive online censorship. Government critics, human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists and religious leaders and practitioners were among those subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. Systematic repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet continued. Authorities attempted to prevent the publication of an OHCHR report documenting potential crimes against humanity and other international crimes in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang). Women continued to endure sexual violence and harassment and other violations of their rights. The Hong Kong government continued its crackdown against the pro-democracy movement. Journalists, broadcasters and book publishers were among those prosecuted and imprisoned under the National Security Law and other repressive legislation, while civil society organizations both in Hong Kong and abroad faced criminal charges or harassment for legitimate activities. Despite some positive policy commitments, including to increased use of renewables, China’s CO2 reduction targets were rated as “highly insufficient” and coal production increased. Read the full report on China in Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World’s Human Rights   For more information on Amnesty International’s work on China, refer to the links on Xinjiang and Hong Kong in the text above, links to documents below,or contact the AIUSA China Coordination Group.

In the summer of 2019, the people of Hong Kong have repeatedly protested against a proposed extradition bill. The Hong Kong police used tear gas and pepper spray, and in some instances, guns firing bean bags and rubber bullets to disperse protesters including those remaining peaceful. Then on June 30, 2020, China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) passed a new national security law for Hong Kong that entered into force in the territory the same day.

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Mass detention camps began making their appearance locally in 2014, spreading rapidly throughout Xinjiang after the adoption of regional “Regulations on De-Extremification” in March 2017. The goal of these facilities appears to be replacement of religious affiliation and ethnic identity with secular, patriotic political allegiance. The Chinese government initially denied their existence, but their construction has been documented by recruitment and procurement documents and satellite imagery. Eventually, it acknowledged their existence but claimed that they were voluntary “vocational training centers.”

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