Latest Articles about human rights
Georgian Dream Launches Russian-Style Repression Against Opponents
Executive Summary: Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s November 28 announcement about suspending EU integration discussions has caused a pre-revolutionary situation to develop in Georgia, with protests spreading across the country. The government has stepped up repression against the Georgian people in response to the demonstrations.... MORE
From Ambition to Anxiety: The Unraveling of Xi Jinping’s Vocational Education Policy
Executive Summary: Xi Jinping’s vocational education reforms, designed to address a skills gap, have been distorted at the local level, with uneven implementation and coercive measures intensifying stress on students. The centralized power structure of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) incentivizes local officials to... MORE
Xi Jinping Challenged Following Spate of Violent Attacks
Executive Summary: Xi Jinping faces mounting challenges to his legitimacy from multiple directions, with economic troubles, mass killings, and corruption in the military eroding his grip on power. A spate of unrelated violent incidents and rising social protests across the People’s Republic of China (PRC)... MORE
Moscow Facing Ever Greater Problems Getting Troops to Fight in Ukraine
Executive Summary: Moscow is facing ever greater problems filling the ranks of its invasion force. Increasing signing bonuses and pardons for those who serve are less effective than advertised. The Kremlin is turning to ever more repressive and deceptive measures, but these are not working... MORE
Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics: PRC Consulate Gray Zone ‘Pop-up’ Events in New York and Beyond
Executive Summary The Consulates General of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago have been conducting gray zone “pop-up” consular service events across the United States under the initiative “Bringing Consular Services into the Community,” often at non-diplomatic facilities.... MORE
Russia’s Prospective Childfree Ban Becomes New Way to Control Society
Executive Summary: The Russian State Duma announced that it conceptually supports a new law to ban “the childfree ideology,” that is, the conscious refusal to have children in Russia, in an effort to “preserve family values.” In practice, these measures are not capable of improving... MORE
Belarusian Prisoner Releases Hold Potential to Facilitate Belarus-West Relations
Executive Summary: Since early July, at least 115 political prisoners have been released from Belarusian prisons, raising important questions about the reasons for such decisions and how they might pave the way for a potential reopening of Belarus’s relations with the West. The Belarusian opposition... MORE
Beijing’s Supervision Law Overhaul: Proposed Amendments Push Extraterritorial Anti-Corruption Enforcement
Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) proposed amendments to the Supervision Law aim to strengthen the National Supervision Commission’s (NSC) authority, particularly its ability to conduct extraterritorial anti-corruption enforcement. The amendments align with Xi Jinping’s “foreign-related rule-by-law (涉外法治)” concept, extending PRC legal and... MORE
An Assessment of the Audit of Volkswagen’s Controversial Factory in Xinjiang
Executive Summary: A recently leaked copy of the audit of Volkswagen’s much-criticized joint-venture factory in Xinjiang indicates that claims made by Volkswagen inside the report are misleading or false. These include suggestions that the audit applied the SA8000 social accountability standard, followed International Labor Organization... MORE
Turkish Journalists are Now ‘Telling the Xinjiang Story Well’ for Beijing
Executive Summary: Türkiye could be a key player in the People's Republic of China's (PRC) strategy of coopting foreign journalists in order to create a more favorable image of its policies in Xinjiang. Türkiye’s participation in PRC state-backed tours for journalists, along with recent economic... MORE