In its recent report titled “The State of the World’s Human Rights, April 2024,” Amnesty International shed light on human rights violations in China. The report, released on Tuesday, extensively covers human rights concerns across 155 countries in 2023, analyzing global and regional issues and projecting future implications.
Amnesty International’s report particularly emphasizes the targeting of human rights defenders advocating for various communities, who face repression and persecution as part of a broader crackdown on dissent. It notes that China continues to use national security as a pretext to curb fundamental freedoms such as expression, association, and assembly. The government imposes strict censorship both online and offline, suppressing discussions on sensitive topics.
The report also raises alarm over government policies contributing to the erosion of ethnic groups’ language and culture, especially Tibetans. Women’s rights activists experience harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary detention, while Hong Kong’s civic space continues to shrink due to restrictions on protests and the imprisonment of pro-democracy figures.
Legal ambiguities and vague definitions in proposed revisions grant excessive powers to authorities, leading to the systematic targeting of human rights defenders and activists. The report highlights cases of arbitrary detentions, unfair trials, and harsh sentences, including those of legal scholar Xu Zhiyong and human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi.
An example mentioned in the report is the case of He Fangmei, a women’s and health rights defender detained for nearly two and a half years on charges related to her advocacy for safe vaccines and justice for children. Her detention resulted in separation from her children, highlighting broader concerns regarding China’s human rights practices and legal system.