November 25 – December 1, 2024

NORTHEAST ASIA

Lifting shadow ban on Chinese dissident

Chinese activist Li Ying has been able to do what millions of Chinese may never imagine themselves doing on their own social media accounts: post about topics that would have otherwise been censored in the mainland.

No wonder his X account – “Teacher Li is Not Your Teacher (@whyyoutouzhele)” – has generated 1.8 million followers (and counting) – clearly a measure of his impact as a social media personality. His X account is known for its crowdsourced content, mainly around sensitive topics such as human rights abuses in his homeland.

Recently, however, the Italy-based Chinese artist suspected he was being shadow banned¹ on the platform. This happened around the second anniversary of the White Paper Movement, which saw people holding up letter-size white paper during the series of protests against China’s excessive COVID-19 lockdown measures that led to 10 people ending up dead after getting trapped in an apartment fire. 

Li’s Twitter (now X) account was the main source of information – a “one-person newsroom” even, according to MIT Technology Review – at the height of protests against China’s zero-COVID policy.     

ARTICLE 19 investigated his claims and found that a quick search of Li’s username and account name did not surface the authentic account but showed hundreds of impersonator accounts instead. It called on the social media platform to lift its ban and to stop bowing to Chinese pressure on censorship.

Michael Caster, ARTICLE 19’s head of Global China Program, said: “X must immediately end this arbitrary shadow ban targeting such a leading independent voice in the overseas Chinese human rights movement and explain with full transparency exactly how this happened.”

FAST FACTS

• A household name to many following China issues, Li often uses his account to share sensitive information shared by his followers. In 2022, he was among the most prominent sources of information regarding the White Paper protests, drawing international attention amid Beijing’s censorship. 
• The suspected shadow ban – or the act of restricting an account’s reach without deleting it outright – of Li on X by Beijing if true, it would not have been the first time that the government tried to silence him. 

Timeline of state-sanctioned harassment against Li Ying

Source: ARTICLE 19

• Li’s case is a prime example of China’s transnational repression, as it extends its reach beyond its borders to silence dissent and control even its diaspora. Whereas before the government focused mainly on human rights defenders, journalists, and activists, the Chinese Communist Party now also targets social media influencers by threatening their followers with legal action.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• ARTICLE 19 calls on X to lift its shadow ban and reveal how, if at all, China pressured the platform to do so.
• It also asked the platform to explain how it would prevent this “kind of overt influence from succeeding in the future.”

¹In a recent post, the Teacher Li account shared evidence of such a ban, presenting a screenshot from the platform indicating that their content had been subjected to a “search suggestion ban.”

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Unshackling right to expression 

Cambodia’s longest-serving prime minister Hun Sen may have stepped down from power, yet the country, now under his son Hun Manet, continues to see excessive restrictions on free speech while silencing dissent. 

A new report by independent watchdog Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) confirms this stark reality, warning that freedom of expression in the country “was routinely repressed” through judicial harassment, physical attacks, intimidation, and the “cultivation of an environment conducive to self-censorship, hindering the ability of individuals to express dissent or raise concerns regarding sensitive issues.” 

As such, CCHR made several recommendations to the government, including a comprehensive review of all laws that unduly restrict freedom of expression, cease all harassment of journalists and human rights defenders, and ensure that all crimes against them are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted. 

“Ultimately, Cambodia’s suppression of freedom of expression poses a significant threat to democratic progress and human rights. The RGC must end the targeting of critical voices, ensure accountability for abuses, and foster an environment where individuals can exercise their rights without fear,” it said.

FAST FACTS

• CCHR’s report is a comprehensive overview of the state of Cambodia’s freedom of expression between Sept. 1, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024. During this period the democratic backsliding in Cambodia was reflected in almost all global indices. The Southeast Asian country scored 23/100 in Freedom House’s Global Freedom Index (down from 24 in 2023); its press freedom was rated “very serious” in the Reporters Without Borders’ Index (from 147/180 in 2023 to 151/180 in 2024); and it was classified as “authoritarian” by the think tank International IDEA. 
• The CCHR report identified the factors that fueled this decline. For instance, the “Charter for Professional Journalism” was promulgated in August 2024 ostensibly to combat “fake news, malinformation, disinformation and misinformation.”
• Journalists and activists were also routinely targeted by the state, according to CCHR. Many of those interviewed for the report said they were often targeted especially if they were covering or dabbling in issues like land disputes, environmental destruction, and illegal logging.

Nature of harassment against Cambodian journalists
and human rights defenders, 2023-2024

• There were attempts at concession by the government, such as efforts to revive a long-dormant draft law on access to information. Just before Hun Sen stepped down, he said he would have it passed after the 2023 election – but that year, the Ministry of Information spokesperson said the government was not interested in the reviews and inputs by civil society groups. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

The CCHR’s recommendations include the following: 

• Review of all laws that unduly restrict freedom of expression, including its press law, provisions on lese-majeste, incitement and defamation;
• Incorporate input from CSOs into the draft law on access to information; and
• Stop the harassment and attacks against journalists and human rights defenders.

SOUTH ASIA

Watching India’s watchdog and holding it to account

India’s human rights watchdog, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRCI), is under fire for its alleged failure to uphold human rights  and its perceived subservience to government influence.

As the NHRCI faces a crucial review of its accreditation status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), a coalition of human rights groups, including the Asia Democracy Network, has urged GANHRI to downgrade the commission. 

They The GANHRI argues that the NHRCI's consistent disregard for international human rights standards and its inability to protect and promote human rights within India warrant this action: “The failure to create an independent NHRCI risks perpetuating impunity and hindering efforts toward ensuring that the Indian authorities respect and uphold human rights.”

FAST FACTS

• The GANHRI is the international network of national human rights institutions across the world. Accreditation under the alliance means that the NHRI adheres to the Paris Principles – that is, it is independent, has a broad mandate to address a wide range of human rights issues, has adequate powers and resources to investigate abuses; and is representative of diverse perspectives.
• Most of Asia except for Brunei, Cambodia, China, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam have their own NHRIs. An outlier, Japan, has a Civil Liberties Bureau that fulfills certain NHRI mandates. 
• Save for conflict-riven Myanmar and Afghanistan, whose NHRI accreditations were suspended, only India is facing serious allegations of impropriety among Asian GANHRI though it is currently rated “A.” 
• The GANHRI previously deferred accreditation of the NHRCI in 2017, 2023 and 2024, citing the organization’s repeated failure to address recommendations and its inability to effectively respond to escalating human rights violations. 

Allegations against the NHRCI based on the Paris Principles

ACTIONS SOUGHT 

• The coalition has asked the GANHRI to “evaluate the NHRCI’s rating carefully” during the upcoming accreditation process for 2025. 

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

A Mayday call for women against violence

For many women and girls across the world, violence begins at home.

Last year alone, a staggering 51,100 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members, according to a joint report by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime and U.N. Women. These deaths, the agencies said, accounted for 60% of the nearly 85,000 femicides worldwide in the same period underscoring the pervasive and gendered nature of domestic violence.

As the Beijing Declaration approaches its 30th anniversary next year with its goal of advancing women’s rights, the U.N. agencies called on governments to recommit themselves to ending this crisis. 

“Violence against women and girls is not inevitable – it is preventable. We need robust legislation, improved data collection, greater government accountability, a zero-tolerance culture, and increased funding for women’s rights organizations and institutional bodies,” said U.N. Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous.

FAST FACTS

• The report was published in time for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which starts the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (Nov. 25 to Dec. 10). It also comes on the heels of another landmark U.N. report that revealed that more than 370 million girls and women have been victims of rape or sexual assault before the age of 18. 
• The report emphasizes that most femicides occur within homes, making them particularly insidious. In Europe and the Americas, intimate partners were the primary perpetrators, whereas in Africa, Asia, and Oceania, family members were more often responsible.

Number of femicide victims in 2023, per region, in millions

• Even now, global understanding of femicide remains limited. Collecting the right data alone is challenging as some cases either go unreported or the motive/relationship between the victim and perpetrator is not collected. 
• Often femicide is the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, and as rights group Sanctuary for Families says, is not a simple homicide but often characterized by assertion of “power, control, and the systemic devaluation of women’s lives.” 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

Both U.N. Women and UNODC advocate for the following:

• Enhanced laws criminalizing femicide, coupled with specialized police and judicial units, are critical to addressing gender-based violence; 
• Raising public awareness and supporting movements to challenge societal norms;
• Improving data collection by governments; and 
• Putting in place social interventions like restricting firearms possession for repeat abuse offenders and having social workers focused on gender-based violence.