https://www.scmp.com/rss/323111/feed Latest news, features and opinion on human rights in China, covering free speech, religious freedoms, the right to a fair trial, minority rights in the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang and criticisms of China’s human rights record. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Mark Magnier Mark Magnier A Chinese-American was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as a Chinese agent in a case involving a Chinese police station set up in New York’s Chinatown. The week-long trial of Lu “Harry” Jianwang, 64, was seen as a test of Washington’s ability to counter what prosecutors said were efforts by Beijing to expand its influence and intimidate Chinese communities well beyond its shores. On the three charges Lu faced in the US Eastern District Court of New York, he was found guilty of acting as an... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3353484/chinese-american-found-guilty-new-york-overseas-police-station-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3353484/chinese-american-found-guilty-new-york-overseas-police-station-case?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 22:00:53 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen Despite US-led sanctions, Xinjiang’s textile industry expanded last year to create tens of thousands of jobs, a senior official said, pledging stronger support for companies affected by the restrictions. Wang Kuiran, secretary general of the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region government, said yarn output rose more than 20 per cent in 2025. According to Wang, fabric production increased 36 per cent year on year and the sector – a key target of Western sanctions – created 46,800 new jobs... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345813/46800-jobs-xinjiang-official-says-textile-industry-growing-despite-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345813/46800-jobs-xinjiang-official-says-textile-industry-growing-despite-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 09:42:23 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen Human rights cannot be used to “whitewash hegemony”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told the UN, warning against any single country acting as a “human rights teacher”. Wang delivered his remarks via video link to a high-level meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. “No country is qualified to act as the self-appointed ‘teacher of human rights’. No model of human rights should be proclaimed as ‘the sole prescription’,” a Chinese foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344431/china-versus-west-wang-yi-tells-un-no-country-human-rights-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344431/china-versus-west-wang-yi-tells-un-no-country-human-rights-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:00:21 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang China’s top medical watchdog has ordered a nationwide review of the country’s psychiatric institutes following media reports that multiple hospitals in central China had locked up patients – including people who were not suffering from mental illness – as part of an insurance scam. The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Wednesday that its provincial bureaus should hold talks with directors of all psychiatric institutes in their area by Sunday. They were also told to ensure that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3342493/china-probes-mental-hospitals-over-reports-patients-are-being-locked-insurance-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3342493/china-probes-mental-hospitals-over-reports-patients-are-being-locked-insurance-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 07:22:14 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang A veteran Chinese investigative journalist has been detained by police in Sichuan province after publishing an article critical of local officials, raising fresh concerns about the abuse of power. On Monday evening, police in Jinjiang district in Sichuan’s capital city of Chengdu issued a notice on social media on the matter. It stated that a person surnamed Liu, 50, and one surnamed Wu, 34, had been “subjected to criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law” on suspicion of lodging... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3342245/chinese-journalist-liu-hu-detained-sichuan-after-report-scrutinising-local-officials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3342245/chinese-journalist-liu-hu-detained-sichuan-after-report-scrutinising-local-officials?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:28:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press An immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese national who he said had a “well-founded fear” of persecution if sent back to China after exposing human rights abuses there. Guan Heng, 38, applied for asylum after arriving in the US illegally in 2021. He has been in custody since being swept up in an immigration enforcement operation in August as part of a mass deportation campaign by the Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security initially sought to deport Guan to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341605/chinese-national-guan-heng-who-filmed-xinjiang-facilities-granted-us-asylum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341605/chinese-national-guan-heng-who-filmed-xinjiang-facilities-granted-us-asylum?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 23:53:24 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng Another senior official in Xinjiang has been placed under investigation amid Beijing’s vow to resolutely “eradicate the soil for corruption”. Chen Weijun, executive vice-chairman of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was “under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation” for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law”, China’s top anti-graft agency said on Sunday, referencing a euphemism for corruption. The announcement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI)... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3334793/no-soil-corruption-chen-weijun-joins-list-senior-xinjiang-officials-investigated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3334793/no-soil-corruption-chen-weijun-joins-list-senior-xinjiang-officials-investigated?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 11:25:10 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang The vulnerability of safe digital spaces for China’s LGBTQ community has been underscored by the abrupt removal of the country’s two most popular same-sex dating apps – Blued and Finka – from mainland app stores under government orders. The apps, both owned by Hong Kong-based BlueCity Holdings Ltd, were first noticed missing by Chinese social media users last weekend. Apple confirmed the removals in a statement sent to the South China Morning Post on Thursday, explaining that it follows the laws... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3332962/chinas-lgbtq-community-loses-key-lifeline-blued-finka-apps-abruptly-vanish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3332962/chinas-lgbtq-community-loses-key-lifeline-blued-finka-apps-abruptly-vanish?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 08:00:15 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang China has been quietly restricting the widespread abuse of a form of detention legal critics believe is a key source of illegal interrogation that has led to multiple deaths and blocked suspects’ access to lawyers. There has been no official announcement of the changes. But last month, a leaked file of new guidelines circulated online, adding supervision and restricting the way the measure, known as residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL), is approved and executed. RSDL was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3332047/china-quietly-curbs-abuse-detention-procedure-linked-suspect-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3332047/china-quietly-curbs-abuse-detention-procedure-linked-suspect-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 08:00:19 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang A controversial plan by police in a northern Chinese city to build a crime-fighting tool using blood samples from men has sparked a debate over privacy rights. Police in Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia announced last month that they would start collecting DNA samples to update a data bank for identification information used for such items as ID cards and passports, according to a report by China Newsweek magazine. The police also said at the time that the samples would help in “preventing elderly and... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3329140/why-police-plan-dna-data-bank-china-has-sparked-privacy-worries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3329140/why-police-plan-dna-data-bank-china-has-sparked-privacy-worries?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 01:00:18 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for further enactment of law and regulation, as well as stricter law enforcement, in religious affairs in a push to Sinicise religions in the country, according to state media. Xi made the remark on Monday while presiding over a group study session of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo. “Governing religious affairs in accordance with the law is the fundamental way to properly handle various contradictions and problems in the religious field,” he said,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3327362/xi-calls-religion-align-ethnic-and-social-harmony-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3327362/xi-calls-religion-align-ethnic-and-social-harmony-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 08:00:43 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for “every effort” to maintain overall social stability in Xinjiang and the Sinicisation of religions by promoting cultural integration in the far western region. Xi delivered his remarks after he listened to work reports from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region Communist Party committee and government, according to state news agency Xinhua. The Chinese leader arrived in Xinjiang on Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the autonomous region’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3326729/xi-jinping-visit-xinjiang-calls-every-effort-achieve-social-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3326729/xi-jinping-visit-xinjiang-calls-every-effort-achieve-social-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:19:21 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han Jerome Cohen, a pioneering scholar of Chinese law who shaped global debates on the country’s legal system, trade, and human rights for over six decades, has died at 95. Cohen, who died on Monday, was professor emeritus at New York University’s School of Law and the founder of its US-Asia Law Institute, as well as a senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank. The author and editor of over a dozen books and dozens of journal articles, Cohen began his career in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3326607/jerome-cohen-respected-china-law-expert-and-regular-critic-dies-95?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3326607/jerome-cohen-respected-china-law-expert-and-regular-critic-dies-95?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 22:21:18 +0000 Alcott Wei,William Zheng Alcott Wei,William Zheng China’s President Xi Jinping has arrived in Urumqi to mark the 70th anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, according to state media reports, making him the first national leader to be present for such a landmark celebration. Xi arrived in the regional capital on Tuesday afternoon, along with two members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the top Communist Party body, state news agency Xinhua reported. Accompanying Xi are Wang Huning, China’s fourth-ranking official and chairman... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3326573/xi-jinping-first-chinese-president-attend-xinjiang-regions-anniversary-celebration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3326573/xi-jinping-first-chinese-president-attend-xinjiang-regions-anniversary-celebration?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 10:29:31 +0000 Sylvie Zhuang Sylvie Zhuang Chinese scholars have criticised US-led sanctions over Xinjiang, saying their research showed the measures had resulted in long-term economic damage, including job losses. The findings, presented at an academic seminar in Hong Kong last month, offered one of the first aggregated assessments of the impacts of US sanctions imposed on Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses in the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Beijing has denied those accusations and condemned the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3325377/after-years-us-sanctions-how-xinjiangs-economy-doing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3325377/after-years-us-sanctions-how-xinjiangs-economy-doing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:00:15 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday it is designating five new Chinese industry sectors, including copper, lithium and steel, for “high priority” enforcement under a human rights law restricting imports from China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Tuesday’s updated list also names caustic soda – a chemical used in textiles and detergents – and red dates, bringing the total number of high-priority sectors targeted under the law to 12. The Uygur Forced Labour... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322427/us-names-five-more-chinese-industries-enforcement-under-uygur-labour-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322427/us-names-five-more-chinese-industries-enforcement-under-uygur-labour-law?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 19:19:51 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han The US State Department’s annual review of China’s human rights record, released on Tuesday, was pared back as part of a broader restructuring of its country reports but still retained many of its most politically sensitive criticisms of Beijing’s conduct. “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year in China against predominantly Muslim Uygurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” the report said in its executive summary. The China assessment,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321642/us-annual-review-chinas-human-rights-record-shorter-remains-sharply-critical?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321642/us-annual-review-chinas-human-rights-record-shorter-remains-sharply-critical?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:38:50 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang Police Swat teams were deployed in southwestern China earlier this week after a protest erupted over authorities’ handling of a school bullying case last month. According to footage posted online, the protest occurred on Monday in the Sichuan city of Jiangyou, which is administered by Mianyang. According to a video posted online by Chinese news site iFeng.com, hundreds of people gathered inside a government building in Jiangyou on Monday in support of parents of a teenaged girl who had... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3320903/handling-teen-bullying-case-sparks-tension-and-arrests-southwestern-chinese-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3320903/handling-teen-bullying-case-sparks-tension-and-arrests-southwestern-chinese-city?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 04:31:24 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang A provincial authority in China has lashed out at online stand-up comedy shows, accusing some of attacking men and “stirring up gender antagonism”. In its notice on Sunday, the Zhejiang provincial publicity department did not refer to any specific content but its comments come as a number of performances by women comedians addressing gender-related topics have gained popularity in recent weeks. The shows provide a unique space for discussing social issues, including problems faced by women, but... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3319097/chinese-officials-accuse-popular-online-stand-shows-stirring-gender-antagonism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3319097/chinese-officials-accuse-popular-online-stand-shows-stirring-gender-antagonism?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 06:04:08 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Beijing said the succession of the Dalai Lama should be in accordance with tradition and Chinese law, in a swift rejection of a plan announced by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The comment was made hours later after the 14th Dalai Lama said his office – the Gaden Phodrang Trust – held the sole authority to recognise the next Dalai Lama. On Wednesday, four days ahead of his 90th birthday, he posted a statement to X discussing the future of the Tibetan spiritual leadership, particularly his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3316626/beijing-says-dalai-lamas-succession-plan-breaks-tradition-tensions-set-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3316626/beijing-says-dalai-lamas-succession-plan-breaks-tradition-tensions-set-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 10:06:58 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China’s top security official has called for the defeat of “separatism” during a trip to Qinghai province, birthplace of the exiled Dalai Lama, three weeks before the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to announce his succession plan. During a three-day inspection tour of the northwestern province that ended on Sunday, Chen Wenqing, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and a member of the 24-strong Politburo, said political and legal bodies must fully... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3314812/china-warns-against-separatism-moves-ahead-dalai-lamas-expected-succession-decree?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3314812/china-warns-against-separatism-moves-ahead-dalai-lamas-expected-succession-decree?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:14:37 +0000 Han Dayuan Han Dayuan Over the past five years, Hong Kong’s national security law has provided meaningful insights into the effort to strike a reasonable balance between safeguarding national security and protecting fundamental rights. From the perspective of someone who has followed Hong Kong’s legal and constitutional evolution over several decades, this development is neither abrupt nor unprecedented. Rather, it reflects a maturing legal response to the challenges that also confront many other jurisdictions,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3314194/hong-kong-shows-how-balance-national-security-and-human-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3314194/hong-kong-shows-how-balance-national-security-and-human-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham During thorny human rights talks with China on Friday, the European Union voiced concerns about what it called a “deterioration of fundamental freedoms” in the country. The EU cited “government interference” in the succession plan for the Dalai Lama, an ongoing crackdown in Hong Kong, and jailed Uygur and Tibetan activists as examples in its statement on the 40th edition of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels. The bloc accused China of “persistent restrictions on freedom of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314459/eu-warns-deterioration-fundamental-freedoms-china-during-human-rights-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314459/eu-warns-deterioration-fundamental-freedoms-china-during-human-rights-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jun 2025 11:02:53 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen The Cold War could heat up again in the Asia-Pacific region and China must strengthen domestic political stability and national security in a deteriorating geopolitical environment, Beijing said in a white paper on Monday. Ideological subversion “by hostile forces” must be prevented and the rule of the Communist Party must be guaranteed, as the country faces “increasing external security pressure” as well as “unprecedentedly complicated” risks, according to the paper titled “China’s national... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310071/china-must-bolster-stability-national-security-amid-hostile-forces-beijing-white-paper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310071/china-must-bolster-stability-national-security-amid-hostile-forces-beijing-white-paper?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 00:00:19 +0000 Li Qiang Li Qiang The intensifying US-China trade tensions, most visibly in the form of US tariffs, have been framed as a significant threat to China’s export-driven economy. The real impact of tariffs remains to be seen. However, China should see the tariffs for what they really are: a signal that the world is losing patience with a model of growth built on cheap labour and poor protections, and with its impact on economies. This pressure need not be seen as a challenge, but as an opportunity. There is no better... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3308590/us-tariffs-wake-call-china-improve-labour-standards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3308590/us-tariffs-wake-call-china-improve-labour-standards?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 May 2025 08:32:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham For months, European Union leaders have been warning that they need to move smartly to survive in what they describe as “an era of hyper-competitive and hyper-transactional geopolitics”. Now, as the bloc prepares to hit the negotiating tables with the world’s two major superpowers, its deal-making mettle is about to be put to the test. On one side, it faces off against a China that is on an aggressive European charm offensive. Fresh from lifting retaliatory sanctions against some EU lawmakers,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3308740/deal-or-no-deal-eu-engages-us-china-high-wire-bargaining-act?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3308740/deal-or-no-deal-eu-engages-us-china-high-wire-bargaining-act?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 May 2025 05:00:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham The European Union will not remove sanctions on Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, even as Beijing moves to lift some of its retaliatory sanctions on EU lawmakers. The Post reported earlier that China and the European Parliament were in the “final stages” of lifting the punitive measures on sitting members, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks. However a spokeswoman for the EU’s diplomatic arm, which oversees foreign policy and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307817/china-eases-eu-lawmakers-brussels-stays-course-xinjiang-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307817/china-eases-eu-lawmakers-brussels-stays-course-xinjiang-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:51:12 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification The showdown between US President Donald Trump and Harvard University has become a clash over academic freedom, constitutional limits and the politicisation of higher education. At the heart of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3307278/trump-vs-harvard-battle-over-future-us-college-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3307278/trump-vs-harvard-battle-over-future-us-college-education?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 03:30:08 +0000 For the first time in five years, American attitudes towards China have softened compared to the previous year, with a significant drop in the percentage of those who view China as the “enemy”, according to a survey released by the Pew Research Centre on Thursday. Overall attitudes remain overwhelmingly negative at 77 per cent, but the percentage of respondents with “very unfavourable” views towards China decreased by 10 points from last year, to 33 per cent. Now, only a third of Americans... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3306985/americans-animus-toward-china-softens-pew-survey-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3306985/americans-animus-toward-china-softens-pew-survey-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Apr 2025 16:01:07 +0000 European Union leaders are planning to travel to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late July, according to five people familiar with the arrangement. The plan suggests a second successive EU-China summit would be held in the Chinese capital, despite the fact that the location is supposed to rotate. However, with Xi reluctant to make the trip to Brussels, it is understood that European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3306066/eu-leaders-plan-trip-beijing-july-summit-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3306066/eu-leaders-plan-trip-beijing-july-summit-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Apr 2025 21:38:08 +0000 A Swedish court on Wednesday ordered the detention of a man suspected of spying on ethnic Uygurs for China, Sweden’s prosecution authority said on Wednesday. The prosecution authority declined to give more detail on the case or whether it concerned the small population of Uygurs living in Sweden or groups elsewhere. The man, whose nationality was also not disclosed, is in custody in the Swedish capital, court documents showed. “The man is suspected of having illegally collected information and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3305899/man-detained-sweden-suspicion-spying-uygurs-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3305899/man-detained-sweden-suspicion-spying-uygurs-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:28:11 +0000 The US imposed sanctions on Hong Kong’s departing police chief and five other officials on Monday, saying they had undermined the semi-autonomous city’s “protected rights and freedoms”, and warned of additional visa restrictions for Chinese officials blocking “reciprocal access” to Tibet. The sanctions against Hong Kong Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee and other high-ranking officials announced on Monday will freeze any assets they have in the US and restrict any financial transactions... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304645/us-sanctions-hong-kong-police-chief-five-others-freedoms-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304645/us-sanctions-hong-kong-police-chief-five-others-freedoms-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:07:16 +0000 Hu Dehua, son of the former Chinese leader Hu Yaobang, has died at the age of 76. He died on Sunday in Beijing due to a heart attack, sources told the South China Morning Post. Hu was a liberal businessman who repeatedly spoke out for political reform and press freedom in China – rare among the descendants of the Communist Party’s early top officials, a group known as “princelings”. In 2016, he became vice-director of the outspoken magazine Yanhuang Chunqiu. But he was in the role for less than... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3304622/hu-dehua-son-former-liberal-chinese-leader-hu-yaobang-dies-76?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3304622/hu-dehua-son-former-liberal-chinese-leader-hu-yaobang-dies-76?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 13:27:01 +0000 China’s state-owned newspaper Global Times joined officials from Donald Trump’s administration on Monday in hailing cuts to the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees broadcasters like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia known for reporting that has been critical of Beijing. “When it comes to China-related reporting, VOA has an appalling track record,” Global Times said in an editorial on Monday. “From smearing human rights in China’s Xinjiang [Uygur autonomous region] to hyping up disputes... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3302756/chinas-global-times-praises-trump-funding-cuts-voice-america-radio-free-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3302756/chinas-global-times-praises-trump-funding-cuts-voice-america-radio-free-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 22:21:43 +0000 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced sanctions against officials from Thailand, a US ally, for their role in deporting at least 40 Uygurs to China, where Washington says the members of the Muslim group will face persecution. The US is “committed to combating China’s efforts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uygurs and other groups to China, where they are subject to torture and enforced disappearances”, the US State Department said in a statement. The move appeared... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3302485/us-hits-thai-officials-visa-sanctions-over-deportation-uygurs-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3302485/us-hits-thai-officials-visa-sanctions-over-deportation-uygurs-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:06:36 +0000 A political adviser focusing on the rights of women and children has proposed again this year that China abolish its “divorce cooling-off period” to make the process easier, despite a national push for more people to marry and have families. Jiang Shengnan, a writer and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, proposed during this year’s “two sessions” that the 30-day waiting period for finalising a divorce be removed from China’s Civil Code. The clause was first... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3301197/chinese-political-adviser-calls-easier-divorce-despite-beijings-push-family-values?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3301197/chinese-political-adviser-calls-easier-divorce-despite-beijings-push-family-values?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Mar 2025 08:09:43 +0000 A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives introduced a bill on Wednesday to help federal agencies tackle “trade crimes” committed by Chinese companies, calling it a crucial companion to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The bill, sponsored by Republican Ashley Hinson of Iowa, would establish a new task force within the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute trade-related crimes committed by companies and other entities. It would also provide training and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3301222/us-house-revives-bipartisan-bill-tackle-trade-crimes-committed-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3301222/us-house-revives-bipartisan-bill-tackle-trade-crimes-committed-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Mar 2025 23:25:22 +0000 The US condemned “in the strongest possible terms” Thailand’s return of 40 Uygur men to China on Thursday and called for Beijing to provide regular access to verify their well-being. “As Thailand’s long-standing ally, we are alarmed by this action, which risks running afoul of its international obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Hours earlier,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3300449/us-condemns-thailands-deporting-40-uygurs-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3300449/us-condemns-thailands-deporting-40-uygurs-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Feb 2025 18:29:31 +0000 A federal jury has found a US citizen of Chinese descent not guilty of illegally acting as an agent of Beijing, following a six-day trial that concluded on Monday. Litang Liang of Brighton, Massachusetts, had been charged with two counts related to acting as a foreign agent without notifying the US attorney general, and faced 10 years or more in prison. Federal prosecutors said that Liang, a hotel worker in his mid-60s, acted as an agent of the Chinese government by collecting information about... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298132/jury-finds-us-citizen-chinese-descent-not-guilty-being-covert-agent-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298132/jury-finds-us-citizen-chinese-descent-not-guilty-being-covert-agent-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2025 20:08:02 +0000 Two US lawmakers, including the chairman of a hawkish congressional committee, are raising concerns about the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts’ decision to host the National Ballet of China, accusing the dance company of being a tool of China’s “political machinery”. They are urging the cultural institution to reconsider its ties with the Chinese ballet company. Representatives Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, and John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3296875/us-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-chinese-national-ballet-performance-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3296875/us-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-chinese-national-ballet-performance-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jan 2025 05:25:18 +0000 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday, affirming Washington does not back Taiwan independence, according to China’s foreign ministry, a detail omitted from the American side’s read-out. “The United States does not support ‘Taiwan independence’ and hopes that the Taiwan issue will be peacefully resolved in a way accepted by both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Rubio said in a call that he requested, according to Beijing’s foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3296235/top-diplomat-marco-rubio-tells-wang-yi-us-does-not-back-taiwan-independence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3296235/top-diplomat-marco-rubio-tells-wang-yi-us-does-not-back-taiwan-independence?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2025 16:33:44 +0000 United Nations human rights experts have urged Thailand not to send 48 Uygurs in its custody back to China, warning they are at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned. Human rights groups and some Thai lawmakers have raised concerns in the past week that the transfer to China of the Uygurs, who have been held in immigration detention for more than a decade, was imminent. The government has said it has no such plans. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3295786/un-warns-thailand-uygurs-face-torture-if-deported-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3295786/un-warns-thailand-uygurs-face-torture-if-deported-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2025 07:47:32 +0000 Many people in the Chinese city of Guangzhou enjoy eating halal noodles, a popular and affordable option around the country. What they probably do not know is that the local government closely monitors these restaurants as part of its ethnic integration programme. Guangzhou, a city of 22 million, is using big data to track the activities of its ethnic minority residents in a model that is likely to be applied across China. According to the latest official publication on China’s ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3295239/guangzhou-noodle-shops-mandarin-tibet-focus-chinas-pushes-ethnic-integration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3295239/guangzhou-noodle-shops-mandarin-tibet-focus-chinas-pushes-ethnic-integration?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jan 2025 10:38:59 +0000 China has hit back at the US following intensified curbs by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, with Beijing announcing multifront probes of American firms – declaring that the parent company of clothing brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger has engaged in “inappropriate conduct” on Xinjiang matters – and threatening to investigate US chip companies. The tit-for-tat approach, analysts said, could be a sign of Beijing’s rehearsal for negotiations with Donald Trump, who will be... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3295032/china-accuses-pvh-group-inappropriate-conduct-xinjiang-matters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3295032/china-accuses-pvh-group-inappropriate-conduct-xinjiang-matters?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jan 2025 08:43:34 +0000 The United States has banned imports from another tranche of Chinese companies over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uygurs, targeting 37 textile, mining and solar companies, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday. The companies include Huafu Fashion, one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers, and 25 of its subsidiaries, which the US has linked to forced-labour practices in China’s cotton industry. The companies were added to the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294765/us-targets-china-textile-giant-huafu-fashion-over-uygur-forced-labour-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294765/us-targets-china-textile-giant-huafu-fashion-over-uygur-forced-labour-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:57:45 +0000 A lawyer for Shein summoned to a British parliamentary hearing evaded questions Tuesday on whether the fast-fashion giant sells products containing cotton from China, angering lawmakers seeking answers on the retailer’s labour practices and allegations of forced labour in its supply chains. Executives from Shein and its rival Temu were grilled on their labour rights compliance and how they source their products at parliament’s business and trade committee Tuesday. The hearing came amid reports... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3293815/uk-lawmakers-slam-shein-refusing-answer-questions-china-cotton?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3293815/uk-lawmakers-slam-shein-refusing-answer-questions-china-cotton?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jan 2025 21:03:04 +0000 The death of former American president Jimmy Carter, who oversaw as Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, marked the end of an era for US-China relations. He was probably the last of a sort of China-friendly American politician who, along with his adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, achieved what Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger started but were unable to finish. In one of the most dramatic moments in his one-term presidency, Carter declared in a televised address to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3292938/how-old-friend-jimmy-carter-opened-door-china-and-how-beijing-can-repay-favour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3292938/how-old-friend-jimmy-carter-opened-door-china-and-how-beijing-can-repay-favour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2024 10:59:25 +0000 Members of China’s legal community are shocked after lawyers were pepper-sprayed by court bailiffs as they tried to sit in on a landmark case involving local authorities suing a private company outside the area they govern. Guo Rui, a lawyer with Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, said in a WeChat post on Thursday that she and several other lawyers were blocked by bailiffs on Wednesday as they tried to attend the third hearing of a case in which a private Beijing company was being prosecuted at a court... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292472/chinese-lawyer-says-she-was-pepper-sprayed-court-officials-when-trying-observe-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292472/chinese-lawyer-says-she-was-pepper-sprayed-court-officials-when-trying-observe-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:00:09 +0000 Chinese legal experts have condemned police in the eastern province of Jiangxi, saying they abused their power by once again sending a blogger – who previously accused an auxiliary officer of sexual assault – to hospital for psychiatric treatment. Police in Jiangxi’s provincial capital Nanchang said on Sunday they had sent Li Yixue – a twenty-something blogger with more than 800,000 followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok – to hospital for treatment after a Beijing hospital diagnosed... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292237/chinese-legal-experts-condemn-police-sending-blogger-psychiatric-hospital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292237/chinese-legal-experts-condemn-police-sending-blogger-psychiatric-hospital?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Dec 2024 11:00:08 +0000 China’s top political adviser has made a rare trip to view an exhibition about the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhas, a sign that Beijing is getting ready to face the Dalai Lama succession issue ahead of the exiled spiritual leader’s 90th birthday next year, according to an analyst. Wang Huning, China’s fourth senior official and chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top advisory body, led a group of its members to visit the semi-official China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292260/chinas-ideology-tsar-views-buddhism-reincarnation-exhibition-signal-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292260/chinas-ideology-tsar-views-buddhism-reincarnation-exhibition-signal-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:00:18 +0000