A Coordinated Campaign of Control

China’s human rights situation deteriorated sharply in 2025 as the government intensified repression across the country and extended its reach far beyond its borders, according to Human Rights Watch. In its World Report 2026, the organization describes a highly coordinated campaign under President Xi Jinping to impose strict ideological conformity and personal loyalty to both Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.

Human Rights Watch says this repression is no longer limited to isolated regions or specific incidents. Instead, it has become systematic, nationwide, and increasingly international in scope.

“The Chinese government under Xi Jinping has amassed an increasingly disastrous human rights record, expanding and deepening its crackdown on fundamental freedoms,” said Maya Wang, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Who Is Human Rights Watch and Why Its Findings Matter

Human Rights Watch is a global human rights organization that investigates and documents abuses in more than 100 countries. Its annual World Report is one of the most comprehensive assessments of global human rights conditions and is widely cited by governments, international organizations, and legal bodies.

The 2026 edition of the report spans 529 pages and highlights China as one of the most severe and consistent violators of basic human rights. The report also warns that China’s actions pose a growing threat to the international human rights system itself.

“Foreign governments have largely been unwilling to push back against the threats the Chinese government poses to the international human rights system, let alone within China,” Wang said.

Tibet and Xinjiang Under Intensified Pressure

Tibetans and Uyghurs continue to face the most severe repression. Xi Jinping’s visits to Tibet in August and to Xinjiang in September were widely viewed by Human Rights Watch as political displays meant to reinforce Beijing’s dominance rather than address longstanding grievances.

In Xinjiang, thousands of Uyghurs remain unjustly imprisoned. Surveillance, arbitrary detention, and ideological indoctrination remain central features of daily life. In Tibet, authorities banned celebrations marking the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama, further restricting religious expression and cultural identity.

Human Rights Watch also warns that a proposed draft law could be used to further justify repression of minority groups while expanding ideological control and strengthening China’s ability to carry out repression beyond its borders.

Hong Kong’s Remaining Freedoms Dismantled

Repression in Hong Kong has escalated dramatically in the five years since authorities imposed the National Security Law. What was once a semi autonomous city with protected civil liberties has seen nearly all organized political opposition dismantled.

In 2025, Hong Kong’s last active pro democracy party, the League of Social Democrats, disbanded under pressure. Numerous political leaders remain imprisoned, including Jimmy Lai, founder of the now shuttered Apple Daily newspaper.

For the first time, authorities also used the National Security Law to prosecute a Hong Kong based family member of a critic living overseas. The case involved pro democracy leader Anna Kwok, signaling a willingness to punish relatives as a way to silence dissent abroad.

Religion Brought Under Party Control

China’s campaign to force religions to conform to Communist Party ideology has intensified. Known as the effort to “sinicize” religion, this policy has resulted in widespread crackdowns on Protestant house churches that refuse to join state controlled religious bodies.

In April, a court in Shanxi province sentenced more than a dozen people connected to the Linfen Golden Lampstand Church on fraud charges. In October, authorities arrested nearly 30 members of Zion Church, including its pastor.

Human Rights Watch says these prosecutions reflect a broader strategy to criminalize independent religious activity and ensure that faith communities serve Party goals rather than spiritual ones.

Arbitrary Detention as a Tool of Fear

Across China, authorities continue to detain and imprison individuals simply for exercising basic rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and association. These arrests often lack due process and are used to send a broader warning to society.

The report emphasizes that repression is not limited to activists or political leaders. Ordinary citizens, religious believers, and members of ethnic minorities are routinely swept into the system.

Repression That Reaches Across Borders

As overseas Chinese communities and diaspora activists have grown more outspoken, Beijing has increasingly targeted critics beyond China’s borders. Human Rights Watch describes this as transnational repression, a strategy that includes harassment of family members inside China, threats against activists abroad, and imprisonment of individuals who return home.

Recent examples include the arrest of France based student activist Tara Zhang Yadi and efforts to intimidate filmmakers involved with the IndieChina film festival in New York. In both cases, Chinese authorities sought to silence criticism far outside their territorial jurisdiction.

The Most Vulnerable Targets

The worst victims of China’s expanding repression include Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong democracy activists, members of unofficial churches, and overseas Chinese citizens who criticize the government. Their families are often targeted as well, creating a system of collective punishment that extends fear across generations and continents.

Human Rights Watch warns that this approach is designed to make resistance feel futile, no matter where critics live.

Human Rights Watch is urging the Chinese government to end crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, revoke Hong Kong’s national security laws, allow independent observers into Tibet and Xinjiang, and release detained human rights defenders.

Without sustained international pressure, the organization warns, China’s model of repression will continue to deepen at home and spread abroad, reshaping global norms around human rights and political freedom.