Veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Koo Sze-yiu passed away last week on April 8, 2026, at the age of 80. Looking back on Koo’s life, he was born with humble roots; Koo’s father was persecuted and executed by firing squad in mainland China in his early years. Despite this, Koo himself embraced communism in his youth while in Macau. However, the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre became a pivotal turning point of his life, turning him into an uncompromising opponent of the CCP. In the decades that followed, his buzz cut, white beard, and the coffin he carried as a prop for protests became iconic symbols of his street-level resistance in Hong Kong.
In an exclusive interview with Human Rights in China, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, Winnie Ng, shared her experiences as a member of the Chinese Canadian diaspora community, including community organizing, overcoming persistent obstacles in order to hold commemorations for the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, and tackling interrelated political issues regarding China, Hong Kong, and Canada.
State Council Provisions on Industrial and Supply Chain Security: Sweeping new regulations aim to investigate and punish foreign companies that stop using Chinese suppliers in response to political pressure at home, as part of Beijing’s broader effort to counter what it sees as rising protectionism in the West.
Digital Humans vs. Human-like AI: An analysis of two draft provisions: the “human-like AI” draft covers machines that act like humans, and the psychological impact of users’ relationships with them; while the digital human draft is about regulating visual portrayals that look like humans as a new medium for conveying information online.
Related: The Friends We’ve Made, Part 2. Reviewing changes between the draft and finalized versions of the Provisional Measures on the Administration of Human-like Interactive Artificial Intelligence Services.
Related: Provisional Measures on the Administration of Human-like Interactive Artificial Intelligence Services. Translated text of the Chinese authorities’ direct attempt to regulate artificial intelligence that simulates human emotions and personality. The measures apply to all AI products and services available to the public that simulate human personality traits, ways of thinking, and communication, while enabling emotional interaction through text, images, audio, or video.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Leaked documents indicate that starting from April 2026, Chinese authorities will coordinate an unprecedented crackdown on cross-border internet access aimed at completely severing unauthorized foreign connections at the physical and protocol levels.
HRIC on Twitter/X: A cluster of Chinese AI firms has begun marketing products that claim to track U.S. military movements in real time. Beijing can transform such data into strategic intelligence at scale, repurposing it into a tool to map military activity and vulnerabilities.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Taiwanese netizens have discovered that on platforms like Threads, Instagram, and X, a large number of AI bot accounts appear to use fake high-volume posting to squeeze out space for real users’ voices, manufacturing a false “mainstream public opinion.”
China’s state media turns to social media and AI to tell its story — and often mock the US: The use of AI animation by state media has increa after Xi Jinping pushed to boost China’s abilities to spread its messages globally, gain a greater say on world affairs and counter Western narratives that Beijing often sees as biased or even derogatory about China.
Documents Raise Fear of Further Crackdown on Great Firewall Circumvention Tools: A group of documents recently circulating online has stoked apprehension about a new wave of pressure on tools used to circumvent China’s Great Firewall, reflecting a climate of steadily tightening control.
Waiting for DeepSeek: New model to test China’s AI ambitions: DeepSeek’s long awaited “V4” model would mark a milestone for China in its bid to beat US restrictions on the export of top-of-the-range AI chips from Californian titan Nvidia. However, the model has yet to emerge.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Activist Wang Yonghong has filed a case against the city of New York, alleging that after he was subjected to a violent assault while he conducted a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese Consulate General in New York, the NYPD failed to generate any record of the incident despite the presence of police and paramedics. The complaint alleges a “pattern of practice” by the NYPD: deliberately downplaying, suppressing, or failing to record violence against protesters in politically sensitive locations.
HRIC on Twitter/X: China Labor Watch is set to release a report alleging that electric vehicle giant BYD’s new factory in Hungary has subjected dispatched Chinese workers to forced labor.
Tibetan activists launch 90-hour hunger strike outside UN HQ to spotlight Tibet: Tibetan activists from the Tibetan Youth Congress chapters of New York and New Jersey launched a 90-hour hunger strike protest in front of the United Nations Headquarters, intended to highlight the critical situation inside Tibet and to warn that continued inaction could weaken the Tibetan struggle for freedom and cultural survival.
BNO scheme expansion for adult children of BNO passport holders goes into effect: On 8 April 2026, the British National (Overseas) visa policy was expanded to include children of BN(O) status holders who were children at the time of the handover on 1 July 1997. The expansion is expected to help 26,000 Hong Kongers reunite with their families in the UK.
Tibetan activists protested in front of the Chinese consulate in the United States, demanding the repeal of the National Unity and Progress Promotion Act.: Among the issues raised by advocates, the new law requires children to learn Mandarin from preschool and provides the Chinese authorities with a legal basis for cross-border crackdowns, which will exacerbate an already dire human rights situation.
HRIC on Twitter/X: On April 13, 2026, renowned human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng completed his 3-year sentence and has returned to his home in Beijing.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Mao Shanchun, a member of the “China Human Rights Watch” team, was sentenced to 4 years in prison on April 7, 2026, and spends his 52nd birthday in jail.
HRIC on Twitter/X: April 10, 2026, marked the third anniversary of the sentencing of renowned human rights defenders and leaders of the New Citizens’ Movement, Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi. Three years ago, they were sentenced by the Linyi Intermediate People’s Court in Shandong Province to 14 years and 12 years in prison, respectively, on charges of “subversion of state power.”
HRIC on Twitter/X: On April 7, 2026, human rights defender Huang Qi, founder of “64 Tianwang” and exposer of the Wenchuan earthquake “tofu dreg” projects, spent his 63rd birthday in prison.
HRIC on Twitter/X: Uyghur tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Ekpar Asat, founder and CEO of the widely popular Uyghur-language social media platform “Bagdax,” was secretly sentenced to 15 years in prison for “inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination” after he attended an exchange program in the United States to study journalism in 2016. His exact location and health status remain unknown.
Tibetan political prisoner released after 18 years, health in critical condition: Yeshe Sangpo was initially detained in 2007 after participating in a protest in Sershul County, advocating for the protection of Tibetan linguistic rights and the preservation of Tibetan language and culture.
Hong Kong independent media outlet says reporters ‘harassed’ and ‘stalked’: InMedia said in a blog post that its reporters had received harassing text messages “in recent months” and suspected that they had been followed after work by unidentified individuals “in recent days.”
Hong Kong bookseller who held Spanish interest class found guilty of running unregistered school, fined HK$32K: The case centered around whether independent bookstore Book Punch, which offered periodic classes under owner Pong Yat-ming, met the definition of a school under the Education Ordinance, which defines a school as an institution that provides formal education or “any other educational course by any means” for 20 people or more in a day, or eight people or more at one time.
Ignoring Tibet’s fragile ecosystem, the Chinese Communist Party authorities continue to promote the “Tibetan electricity transmission” plan through solar power projects.: On April 6, 2026, the Chinese authorities held a ceremony for a 50-megawatt parabolic trough solar thermal power plant in Damzhung County, Tibet, with plans to complete it in 2027. According to Tibetan environmental researchers, in recent years Tibetan farmers have faced the forcible seizure of their lands for the sake of “green energy” projects which encroach on historical herding lands and disrupt native ecosystems.
Sweeping the Ancestors Aside: Qing ming jie, also known as “Tomb Sweeping Day,” is a centuries-old tradition that centers around honoring family and ancestors. Yet Chinese state media reported that “the masses” spent the day visiting and honoring the graves of the martyrs to the cause of the Chinese Communist Party, a “ritual of displacement in which private and poignant commemorations of the dead are substituted with political mythmaking.”
All Hong Kong restaurant licences to have national security clauses by September – minister: An updated version of the food business license application form, dated May 2025, contained a paragraph that read: “I shall ensure that no act or activity engaged or involved in by me or any of my related persons… may constitute or cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security under the National Security Law or other laws of the HKSAR, or conduct [that] is otherwise contrary to the interests of national security or the interest of the public (including public morals, public order and/or public safety) of Hong Kong.”
Police Officer: Ghulja Uyghur Mosque to Be Demolished Within This Month: The Beytulla Mosque, long regarded as one of the most treasured cultural and religious landmarks of the city, has been preserved for its historical significance, architectural value, and its association with prominent historical figures whose legacy is tied to the site.
Taiwan opposition leader heads to China in what she calls a ‘journey for peace’: Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun made an unusual visit to China at the invitation of Xi Jinping, in what she called a “journey for peace.” The visit is the first by a Taiwanese opposition leader in a decade and comes ahead of a meeting in Beijing between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled to take place in May.
Related: Once pro-independence, Taiwan opposition leader leans into China. Cheng has stirred controversy by declaring that Taiwanese people should be proud of their Chinese heritage and insisting Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator.
Japan downgrades assessment of China amid souring ties: The Japanese foreign ministry’s bluebook had described China as “one of Japan’s most important” partners since 2016, but this year’s edition simply calls China “an important neighbour.”