China 2026: Intensified Repression of Uyghurs, Tibetans & Hong Kong | Human Rights Watch Report

Beijing’s tightening grip on dissent and its expanding reach beyond national borders are raising concerns among international rights groups, with 2025 marking a period of intensified repression, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. The report details a systematic effort by President Xi Jinping’s administration to enforce ideological conformity and unwavering loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), impacting a wide range of communities and increasingly extending to those living abroad.

The World Report 2026 highlights particularly severe repression targeting Tibetans, Uyghurs and members of unregistered religious groups. The situation in Hong Kong is also described as deteriorating rapidly following the imposition of a sweeping national security law. The report underscores a growing trend of transnational repression, where the Chinese government attempts to silence critics and communities overseas through harassment, threats, and even the targeting of family members back in China.

Expanding Control Within China

President Xi Jinping has prioritized consolidating power and enforcing ideological control throughout China. This has manifested in increased surveillance, stricter censorship, and a crackdown on any perceived challenge to the CCP’s authority. Visits to both Tibet in August 2025 and Xinjiang in September 2025, regions with significant minority populations, served to underscore the government’s firm control, according to the report.

A proposed law is reportedly in the works, intended to provide legal justification for the repression of minority groups, further strengthen ideological control, and extend Beijing’s influence abroad. Thousands of Uyghurs remain unjustly imprisoned, and the government prohibited commemorations of the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, within Tibet.

Hong Kong’s Diminishing Freedoms

The imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong five years ago has led to a swift and dramatic erosion of freedoms in the territory. The law has been used to suppress dissent, dismantle pro-democracy movements, and curtail fundamental rights. The League of Social Democrats, the last remaining pro-democracy party in Hong Kong, has been dissolved. In a concerning escalation, authorities have reportedly used the national security law to prosecute a family member of Anna Kwok, a pro-democracy activist and critic of the government who resides outside of Hong Kong.

Prominent pro-democracy figures, including Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, remain imprisoned. The report paints a picture of a once-vibrant civil society being systematically dismantled under the weight of Beijing’s control.

Religious Persecution and the “Sinicization” of Faith

The Chinese government’s campaign to “sinicize” religions – to reshape them in accordance with socialist ideology – continues to fuel religious persecution. This campaign has particularly impacted “house churches,” Protestant congregations that operate outside of the state-sanctioned church. In April 2025, a court in Shanxi province reportedly convicted over a dozen individuals affiliated with the Linfen Golden Lampstand church on charges of “fraud.” Further arrests occurred in October 2025, with nearly 30 members of the Zion church, including its pastor, detained by authorities.

Transnational Repression: Silencing Dissent Abroad

Beijing is increasingly resorting to tactics to silence critics and communities living outside of China. This includes harassing family members and friends within China, and even detaining individuals upon their return to the country – a practice known as transnational repression. Recent examples cited in the report include the arrest of Tara Zhang Yadi, a student and activist based in France, and threats made against filmmakers to shut down the IndieChina film festival in New York.

International Response and Future Challenges

Maya Wang, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, stated that the Chinese government’s human rights record under Xi Jinping is “increasingly disastrous,” characterized by an expansion and intensification of repression. She also criticized the reluctance of foreign governments to effectively challenge Beijing’s actions and its threats to the international human rights system.

The Human Rights Watch report calls on the Chinese government to immediately end its alleged crimes against humanity and other violations in Xinjiang, repeal the national security laws in Hong Kong, allow independent observers access to Tibet and Xinjiang, and release all detained human rights defenders across China.

The report, part of a larger 36th edition examining human rights practices in over 100 countries, frames the current global surge in authoritarianism as a generational challenge. Philippe Bolopion, Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, argues that democracies and civil society must forge a strategic alliance to defend fundamental freedoms in the face of growing threats.