China

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to trample on human rights and religious freedom, arresting political dissidents and religious followers, data compiled by Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) showed. Supporters for Taiwan independence are just one group of targets by Chinese censors, the investigation has find.

• About 20 Chinese nationals were questioned by the Chinese Public Security Bureau after they held a gathering in Chongqing City to celebrate Taiwan President William Lai’s inauguration on May 20. Among them was Li Xuezhi (李學志), who was indicted for posting online footage of people toasting the “democratically elected president of Taiwan,” the council said.

• In a separate case, a Chinese farmer, Zhang Liping (張立平), was last month detained and interrogated by Chinese police who demanded that he recant a message he wrote in an open letter in support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and asking people to donate to Kyiv.

• Chinese online platforms Douban, Weibo and others have removed all mentions of Chinese director Lou Ye’s latest work, An Unfinished Film, a docufiction film focusing on the lockdown in Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• More than 100 parents whose children perished during the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake when the main building at Juyuan Junior High School in Dujiangyan City came crashing down were chased away by plainsclothes police when they recently gathered to commemorate the loss, the council said.

• Religious oppression persists, with Bishop Peter Shao (邵祝敏), leader of the Roman Catholic Yongjia Diocese, being arrested again for refusing to join the state-sponsored Catholic Patriotic Association.