Indian Citizen Detained at Shanghai Airport
An Indian woman says she was detained and harassed while transiting through Shanghai because the place of birth listed on her passport, the state of Arunachal Pradesh, was “part of China.”
Pema Wangjom Thongdok, an Indian citizen living in the U.K., said she was detained for “18 hours” by immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and prevented from boarding her onward flight to Japan, according to reports in Indian media.
Thongdok also accused staff of the airline, China Eastern, of “humiliating, questionable behavior,” saying, “When I tried to question them and ask what the issue was, they said, ‘Arunchal is not part of India’ and started mocking and laughing at and saying things like ‘you should apply for the Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian,” Thongdok told ANI.
British University Cancels Human Rights Research Due to Chinese Pressure
A university in the U.K. suspended a professor’s research on forced labor in China in response to pressure from China, according to reports in British media.
Sheffield Hallam University cancelled the final piece of research by Laura Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery, into Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang and removed the landing page for Murphy’s research group from its website after the school’s website was blocked and school staff were questioned by national security police in China, documents obtained by the BBC show.
The university has since lifted the band and apologized to Murphy, whose reports influenced the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
China Warns U.S. Not to Interfere on Human Rights
China earlier this month warned the U.S. to avoid crossing four sensitive “red lines,” including human rights, lest Beijing renege on a trade deal agreed between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) at the APEC summit in South Korea.
“China’s four red lines” are Taiwan, democracy and human rights, political path and system, and right to development, China’s ambassador to the U.S., Xie Feng (謝鋒), said during a virtual address to a U.S.-China Business Council event on November 4.
Trump did not discuss Taiwan with Xi the two met in Busan, though he did bring up the case of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai (黎智英), who has been held for more than 1,600 days while awaiting the outcome of a trial on sedition and collusion with foreign forces.
Israel Signs U.S.-Led Joint Statement on Chinese Human Rights Violations
Fifteen countries signed a U.S.-led joint statement at the United Nations last week condemning China for human rights violations, including Japan, Australia and the U.K. The countries expressed “ongoing deep concerns” over human rights abuses in China, including targeted repression of ethnic and religious minority groups, and the dismantling of civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Notably, the joint statement was signed by Israel, the first time since 2021 that the country has joined a multinational initiative against China at the U.N.
Overall, fewer countries signed the statement than had signed similar statements in the past, with 51 signing a U.K.-led joint statement on human rights violations in Xinjiang in 2023, and 47 signing a U.S.-led joint statement on human rights in China in 2022.
China Shuts Down Film Festival in New York
The long arm of Chinese transnational repression cancelled a film festival in New York. Organizer Zhu Rikun (朱日坤) announced on November 6 that the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival had been “suspended” because participating directors from China were facing harassment, as were the friends and relatives in China of non-Chinese nationals participating in the festival, NBC News reported.
“I hope that the announcement of the cancellation of the IndieChina Film Festival will stop certain unknown forces from harassing all directors, guests, former staff, volunteers, including my friends and family, who are involved in the festival,” Zhu wrote on the festival’s website.
China Covers Up Acid Spill at African Mine
China is pushing to silence those affected by an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine in Zambia, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A dam holding mining waste from Chinese mining company Sino Metals failed earlier this year, releasing toxic mining waste into the Kafue River. Sino Metals, a subsidiary of the Chinese government-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, said 50,000 metric tons of acidic waste reached the Kafue valley, but a South African mitigation firm contracted by Sino Metals said the overflow was 30 times that amount.
The Wall Street Journal reports Sino Metals was offering residents $150 in compensation if they agreed to never talk about the spill. The company also hired a security unit and used a drone to prevent residents from talking to journalists and environmental groups.
Biological Data Collected from North Korean Defectors
Nearly 30 percent of North Korean defectors in South Korea who had lived in China between 2013 and 2025 had their biological data registered with authorities in China, according to a survey by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. Some 29.4 percent of the defectors told the survey that biological data including fingerprints and information on their blood, hair, iris and voice had been registered with China’s Public Security Bureau.
Tibetan Businessman Sustains Serious Injuries in Prison
A prominent jailed Tibetan businessman was brutally beaten and left with serious injuries while in custody at Lhasa’s Drapchi Prison, according to news agency ANI, which reported that prison authorities failed to notify his family about the incident. Dorje Tashi, a property investor, was sentenced to life in prison in 2010 for funding Tibetan exile groups, according to Human Rights Watch.
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