Executive Summary: Analysis of UPR data suggests the PRC’s influence at the UN, at least on human rights issues, may be plateauing. The UPR outcomes reflect a potentially shifting global consensus on the country’s human rights practices, with increased coordination among critics and less cohesive... MORE

Executive Summary: New National Security legislation, which emulates recent PRC laws, and the potential torture of a witness in the ongoing trial of Jimmy Lai, is characteristic of the erosion of legal norms in Hong Kong as it moves towards full unification with the CCP... MORE

Executive Summary Analysis of trends across three previous UPRs (2009, 2013, and 2018) suggests an increase in PRC influence in the UN. Over time, there has been an increase in approving questions from PRC-friendly states, diluting criticism and highlighting the PRC's ability to garner international... MORE

The last quarter of 2022 saw an outburst of Chinese people power. Citizens in as many as 28 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Chongqing staged spontaneous protests on their campuses or out on the streets. The underlying cause was Beijing’s draconian lockdown measures, which led... MORE

China has recently launched a series of provincial “data security escort” special action campaigns (数安护航”专项行动) to speed implementation of a new regulatory regime that focuses on the identification and protection of a specific subset of data known as “important data” (重要数据) (GDCENN, October 26; Anquan... MORE

Russia’s war against Ukraine has taken an unpleasant turn for Moscow. Instead of a speedy, triumphant victory, the Russian Armed Forces are effectively wasting human and material resources in the battle for Avdiivka (Ukrinform, October 28). Three factors are pushing the Russian side to continue... MORE

Moscow’s war against Ukraine has resulted in serious military and economic losses for the Russian Federation. The Kremlin has tried to mitigate the effect of stringent Western sanctions through a combination of non-compliance with the oil price ceiling, evading sanctions via third parties, and high... MORE

The role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a major source of precursor chemicals for illicit drug manufacturing, particularly fentanyl and methamphetamine, is increasingly well documented (China Brief, January 19). However, the actual level of illegal drug use within China itself remains murkier.... MORE

Last month, on the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership (中越全面战略合作伙伴关系), Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping met with Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) Politburo Member and Head of the Central Committee Organization Commission Truong Thi Mai and... MORE

Introduction In early 2018, UK Prime Minister Theresa May visited China with a British business delegation, seeking a free trade deal and expressing optimism over Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for governing Hong Kong (Global Times, January 31, 2018; Zaobao, January 31, 2018). In... MORE