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Civic space in China is still rated as ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. China’s authoritarian state, ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has systemically repressed fundamental freedoms. Human rights defenders and activists report harassment and intimidation; unfair trials; arbitrary, incommunicado and lengthy detentions; and torture and other ill-treatment for exercising their fundamental rights. Protests do occur but are quickly repressed, and critical civil society groups have been shut down.
In July 2025, human rights groups urged the EU to prioritise human rights in the forthcoming European Union (EU)-China Summit to be held in China from 24th to 25th July 2025. They urged the EU to condemn the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity and called for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights defenders who have been detained for their work.
In September 2025, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council that the progress the UN has sought in China for the protection of the rights of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, as well as Tibetans in their regions, has yet to materialise.
Since June 2025, human rights defenders and activists have been arrested and prosecuted. Reports highlighted forced travel to disappear critics, and the use of spies by China to infiltrate overseas activist groups. Amendments to the cybersecurity law and new internet ID System increase restrictions on freedom of expression and reinforce censorship and surveillance. There has been an increase in transnational repression of protesters worldwide. Bullying triggered a mass protest and crackdown as protests increase across the country.
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