China

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Spotlight: Digital Rights China Free Expression & the Law

Chinese government targets elites, intellectuals in recent free expression cases

10 March 2019
Freedom House

Among those recently detained are lawyers, university professors, prominent scholars, and students from China's top universities.

Attacks China Freedom of Assembly Free Expression & the Law

Civil society groups call for Xinjiang Resolution at the UN Human Rights Council

The UN is urged to investigate allegations that China is detaining up to one million Turkic Muslims.

‎ Freedom House, Human Rights Watch (HRW), PEN America‎19 February 2019

China Free Expression & the Law

China: Civil society groups demand release of Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti

Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti was arrested five years ago and sentenced to life imprisonment for "separatism".

‎ PEN International‎20 January 2019

Digital Rights China Free Expression & the Law

The globalization of Beijing's media control

The recent "China Media Bulletin" highlights five key trends in the Chinese Communist Party’s global media campaign.

‎ Freedom House‎23 December 2018

Latest from China

Google must end censored search engine Project Dragonfly

‎ ARTICLE 19

Digital Rights China Censorship 10 December 2018
Interpol president Meng Hongwei vanishes in China

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Attacks China 10 October 2018
Massive crackdown on Turkic Muslims in China's Xinjiang region

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Attacks Digital Rights China 11 September 2018
Google urged to reject China's censorship demands

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Digital Rights China Censorship 14 August 2018
Chinese poet Liu Xia arrives in Germany after release from house arrest

‎ PEN International

China Free Expression & the Law 12 July 2018
Global NGOs call on EU leaders to prioritize human rights at the EU-China Summit

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Freedom House, Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Attacks China Free Expression & the Law 30 June 2018
China's ever-expanding surveillance state

‎ Freedom House

Digital Rights China 9 May 2018
China shuts down popular joke-sharing app NeihanShequ

‎ Global Voices Advox

China 14 April 2018
China urged to free anti-censorship activist Zhen Jianghua

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

China Censorship 8 April 2018
Censorship, surveillance, and harassment: China cracks down on critics

‎ Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Digital Rights China Censorship 28 March 2018
Forbidden feeds: Government controls on social media in China

‎ PEN American Center

Digital Rights China Censorship 18 March 2018
China: Riddles and funny memes outwit online censors

‎ Global Voices Advox

Digital Rights China Censorship 13 March 2018
From Snake to Dog, five dark years for journalism in China

‎ Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Digital Rights China Free Expression & the Law 19 February 2018
A Decade of Decline: IFJ launches 10th China Press Freedom Report

‎ International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Digital Rights China Censorship 2 February 2018
China: Rights crackdown goes global

‎ Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Digital Rights China Free Expression & the Law 21 January 2018
Chinese activist Wu Gan gets eight years in prison

‎ Global Voices Advox

China Free Expression & the Law 10 January 2018
South Korean photojournalists Koh Young-Kwon and Lee Chung-Woo attacked in Beijing

‎ International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Attacks China 22 December 2017
China's stealthy holiday crackdowns

‎ Freedom House

China Censorship Free Expression & the Law 19 December 2017
Chinese writer and PEN member Yang Tongyan dies while on medical parole

‎ PEN International

Attacks China Free Expression & the Law 10 November 2017
China: No WhatsApp, rights websites targeted, scholars pressured

‎ Freedom House

Digital Rights China Free Expression & the Law 12 October 2017
Allegations China forced Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che to confess on camera

‎ Global Voices Advox

Digital Rights China 14 September 2017
Human rights issues ignored during BRICS summit in China

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China Censorship Free Expression & the Law 7 September 2017
China to ban anonymous online comments, blacklist users

‎ Global Voices Advox

Digital Rights China 6 September 2017
China pressures university publications to censor content

‎ International Federation of Journalists

Digital Rights China Censorship 26 August 2017
Ilham Tohti

‎ IFEX

China Censorship 8 August 2017
After Liu Xiaobo: Tributes, ramped-up censorship, and calls to free Liu Xia

‎ Mong Palatino for IFEX

Digital Rights China Censorship 28 July 2017

At a glance

Most covered free expression issues in this country

More from China

Freedom on the Net 2018: China

The level of internet freedom declined due to the new cybersecurity law which strengthened repressive restrictions on online activities.

Freedom House 1 November 2018
Forbidden Feeds: Government Controls on Social Media in China.

Based on extensive interviews with writers, poets, artists, activists, and others personally affected by the government’s grip on online expression, as well as interviews with anonymous employees at Chinese social media companies, the report lays bare the destructive impact of the Chinese government’s vision of “cyber sovereignty” on netizens who dare to dissent.

PEN American Center 13 March 2018
Ten-Year Edition: A Decade of Decline

The general trend over the past 10 years has been bleak, with an overall negative trajectory for press freedom. The major turning point was the election of Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012 and President of China in 2013.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) 2 February 2018

Freedom on the Net 2017: China

Activists received sentences of up to 11 years in prison for advocating democracy online

Freedom House 15 November 2017

Freedom of the Press 2017: China

Authorities tightened control over news dissemination channels, including social media and mobile-phone applications, and suspended permission for websites to repost content from the prominent news site Caixin.

Freedom House 27 April 2017

The Battle for China's Spirit Religious Revival, Repression, and Resistance under Xi Jinping

Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the Communist Party's policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime's political and economic interests.

Freedom House 1 March 2017

China HRW Report: Events of 2016

Chinese authorities' enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing's decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory's autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Human Rights Watch 16 January 2017

Freedom of the Press 2016: China

Dedicated internet users continued to employ circumvention technology and other creative tactics to defy and bypass restrictions on free expression. The government responded by increasing efforts to block circumvention tools, including through innovative cyberattacks and intimidation of software developers.

Freedom House 23 April 2016

Freedom on the Net 2015: China

Draft counterterrorism law would require telecoms and ISPs to provide backdoor access and encryption keys to government

Freedom House 31 October 2015

Freedom of the Press 2015: China

Ranked 186th in annual global media freedom report

Freedom House 1 May 2015

Freedom in the World 2014: China

Strike by journalists calling for end to censorship met with state-led ideological campaign

Freedom House 1 May 2014

Freedom of the Press 2014: China

Ranked 183rd in annual global media freedom report

Freedom House 1 May 2014

Under China's Shadow: Mistreatment of Tibetans in Nepal

The 100-page report shows that Tibetan refugee communities in Nepal are now facing a de facto ban on political protests, sharp restrictions on public activities promoting Tibetan culture and religion, and routine abuses by Nepali security forces.

Human Rights Watch 1 April 2014

Enemies of the Internet 2014: China

"Electronic Great Wall getting taller"

Reporters Without Borders 13 March 2014

Attacks on the Press in 2013: China

"Crackdown on bloggers and social media users follows presidential transition"

Committee to Protect Journalists 11 February 2014

World Press Freedom Index 2014: China

Ranked 175th in annual press freedom index

Reporters Without Borders 31 January 2014

Back to a Maoist Future - Press freedom in China 2013

IFJ's report documents the continued deterioration of press freedoms in Mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. It takes its title in direct response to Chinese authorities adopting more repressive measures in 2013 reminiscent of the Mao era four decades ago, including direct censorship, Internet surveillance, abuse of legal process, harassment and intimidation, and televised confessions of journalists and bloggers without trial.

International Federation of Journalists 28 January 2014