March 17-23, 2025

NORTHEAST ASIA

Homegrown security law: A year on

The dangerous combination of China’s national security law and Hong Kong’s homegrown version of it through Article 23, enacted exactly a year ago, have effectively outlawed dissent in the city once known for its vibrant democracy. 

On the first anniversary of the enactment of Article 23 on March 19, Amnesty International renewed its call to the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to repeal the law that it says has been used toward the “systematic repression of dissent, criminalizing peaceful acts in increasingly absurd ways” said its China Director Sarah Brooks.

“People have been targeted and harshly punished for the clothes they wear as well as the things they say and write, or for minor acts of protest, intensifying the climate of fear that already pervaded Hong Kong. Freedom of expression has never been under greater attack.”

FAST FACTS 

• Article 23 was introduced by the Hong Kong government exactly a year ago ostensibly to “plug the loopholes” left by China’s NSL, which took effect in the city on June 30, 2020, and was used to quell the massive 2019-2020 protests against plans to allow extradition to the mainland. In many ways, critics say, Article 23 is worse than the NSL as it grants authorities broader powers, including increased police detention periods and restrictions on detainees’ rights, and even has provisions that have extraterritorial reach to go after overseas activists. 
• Under Article 23 Amnesty says at least 16 people have been arrested for sedition as of 2025. Five¹ of them were charged with various offenses, including wearing T-shirts that bear protest slogans, criticizing the government online, and committing other acts of protests. Three of them were eventually sentenced to 10 to 14 months in prison. 
• Thirteen overseas activists have been targeted through the law via passport cancellations, license suspensions, and financial restrictions, Amnesty added. 
• Article 23 has largely reshaped Hong Kong. For one, authorities have made it clear that public commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre could constitute a violation of the new law, while academics that dabble in controversial topics are now facing uncertainty. These restrictions have led to a drastic slide in Hong Kong’s civil liberties. In 2019, Freedom House gave Hong Kong a score of 59/100 in terms of freedoms, but this has now slid to 40/100. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

Amnesty International calls on Hong Kong to: 

• Repeal Article 23 and the National Security Law and cease the use of security laws to criminalize peaceful expression and activism.
• End the extraterritorial application of repressive laws targeting Hongkongers abroad.

¹This includes Chow Hang-tung, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China which organizes the annual Tiananmen commemoration vigil in the city. She remains in custody for another case according to China File, which tracks records of human rights defenders charged under both the NSL and Article 23.
²Among those affected are former student activists Nathan Law and Ted Hui Chi-fung. They live in exile in the United Kingdom and Australia, respectively, and are on Hong Kong’s wanted list.  

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Migrant workers on lorries unbound

Every day, thousands of migrant workers in Singapore travel to and from construction sites packed onto the backs of lorries, where they are exposed to the elements, with little protection if accidents occur. 

This image of humans being herded like cattle has unfortunately become so normalized – and speaks volumes about the stark inequality that pervades the wealthy city-state, according to rights group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME). 

In a newly released report, the group urged the government to end this unsafe practice through a phased ban. Among others, they proposed a 12-month transport subsidy to help companies transition to safer alternatives like buses. 

“By maintaining the practice of lorry transport, as well as justifying it with arguments such as cost efficiency for businesses, the implication is that our society is willing to prioritise these factors over migrant workers’ safety and lives. It is a moral imperative that the safety and dignity of workers in Singapore is safeguarded,” the report said.

FAST FACTS

• Government data show that there were about 1.6 million foreign workers in Singapore as of December 2024. Of these, around 442,900 are employed in construction, marine shipyard, and process industries, where they often face physically demanding conditions and long hours, according to the report. 
• Among their long-standing work hazards is how they are transported to work. Singapore’s current road laws ban ferrying people in lorries unless they are employed by the vehicle owner or hirer. There they often don’t even have proper seats or safety belts, or rain covers. 
• A recent survey by the International Labor Organization shows that despite the high demand for migrant workers in the country, there are still no strong social protections and government-mandated minimum wage. Discrimination and exploitation persist.
• Two deadly lorry accidents in Singapore, occurring in April and May 2021, where two migrant workers died and over 20 were injured, brought renewed attention to the serious safety risks of transporting workers in this way.
• Earlier this month, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor defended the government’s continued refusal to ban the practice, saying it was “impractical” and would hurt small- and medium-sized enterprises the most. But just two days after her speech before parliament, another lorry ferrying five migrant laborers figured in an accident, leaving the workers injured and necessitating immediate medical treatment. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

The report recommends that the government:

• Implement a phased ban on the use of lorries to transport migrant workers.
• Amend the Road Traffic Act to remove exceptions allowing human transport in goods vehicles.
• Offer a 12-month transport subsidy and early adopter grants to assist businesses in making the switch.
• Use decommissioned public buses and expand the driver pool to meet transport demand.

SOUTH ASIA

Unraveling Bhutan’s false ‘happiness’ facade

Dozens of ethnic Nepali Bhutanese languishing behind prison bars simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression – such as by distributing pamphlets – throws into stark relief Bhutan’s efforts to champion gross national happiness, a philosophy that puts a premium on the nation’s wellbeing, among others.   

A scathing opinion released this week by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention cites the cases of three men who were convicted under Bhutan’s national security act and labeled “anti-nationals” or rajbandi. 

The U.N. body found the detention of Birkha Bahadur Chhetri, Kumar Gautam, and Sunman Gurung – and the circumstances leading to their their arrest and what happened after – violate their fundamental rights and therefore called on the government to immediately release them and grant them compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law. 

Their case is emblematic of the conditions endured by the Lhotshampas, who constitute the majority of the country’s 34 political prisoners. Back in 1994, U.N. experts flagged the arbitrary detention of many Lhotshampas who were sentenced to life without due process, possibly because at the time, Bhutan had zero lawyers – “there is no law school in Bhutan and the judges do not have a law degree, as they are appointed from among members of the civil service.” 

FAST FACTS

• Chhetri, Gautam, and Gurung are part of a minority group called Lhotshampas, or ethnic Nepali Bhutanese, who were expelled en masse in the 1980s-1990s under Bhutan’s “one nation, one people” policy. They were ultimately stripped of their citizenship following a controversial 1988 census based on the 1985 Bhutan Citizenship Act that enforced a uniform national identity.
• The three were children during this mass expulsion and lived in refugee camps in Nepal. In 2008 they returned to Bhutan only to be arrested for distributing political pamphlets alleging discrimination against their people. Later that year, they were sentenced to life without parole for treason under Bhutan’s NSA, the UNWGA said. 
• The UNWGA notes that the three were denied their rights at every stage of their case. They were arrested without warrants and not allowed to inform their families of their detention; did not have access to lawyers during their trials, which were conducted in Dzongkha, or Bhutanese, the official and national language of Bhutan language, which they did not understand; and then denied family visits. 
• Human Rights Watch and other groups have long sounded the alarm on the plight of Bhutan’s 34 political prisoners. Most of them are held in Chemgang Central Prison, where they are denied their right to a fair trial, family visits, and medical care, among other human rights violations. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

The UNWGA, along with other human rights groups, urges the government to:

• Release the three and give them compensation and reparations, and to update the UNWGA within six months of their status;
• Bring Bhutan’s National Security Act and related laws into conformity with international human rights standards, especially to eliminate vague and overly broad provisions used to criminalize peaceful political expression.

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

Breaking chains for women journalists

Whether reporting from conflict zones or covering gender issues online, women journalists around the world face a unique double threat: targeted violence and systemic gender discrimination. 

Free speech advocacy group ARTICLE 19 warns that current protections are failing, leaving women journalists exposed to gender-based abuse, harassment, and censorship. 

In its statement delivered during the General Debate for Item 3 (on Promotion and protection of all human rights) at the 58th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council – coincidentally held during International Women’s Month – the group urged states to strengthen their policies that protect women journalists. 

Civil society groups as well as the United Nations have long advocated for a gendered policy approach to journalist safety, recognizing the unique dangers women journalists face. This includes misogynistic attacks and sexualized threats in an attempt to discredit their professional credibility; systemic discrimination that hinders their career progression; and higher risk of sexual harassment and assault.

FAST FACTS

• A 2021 study by UNESCO – the most comprehensive and recent report of its kind – found that women journalists were more exposed to online violence, such as misogynistic harassment, abuse, threats, and digital privacy breaches.

Manifestations of online violence against women journalists, 2021 

Source: UNESCO

• The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles in newsrooms perpetuates this cycle as their concerns are marginalized even within the workplace. According to a recent report by the Reuters Institute for the School of Journalism, only 27% of the top editors in five continents were women even though 40% of its journalists were women. Still, this was a marginal improvement from 2020 figures, when women only constituted 23% of the top editors. 
• International human rights law requires states to protect freedom of expression and equality, yet few states address the specific gendered threats faced by women journalists. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

ARTICLE 19 recommends that member-states: 

• Adopt gender-sensitive, intersectional protections for women journalists in all relevant Human Rights Council resolutions.
• Ensure women journalists are directly involved in shaping policies, safety measures, and tools that impact them.
• Recognize, support, and enable community-based safety networks created by women journalists.