Report Shows Rise in Human Rights Harms at China-Backed Mineral Projects
The number of human rights violations at critical mineral projects tied to Chinese firms has increased every year since 2021, according to a new report from the Business and Human Rights Center. The new data released on Wednesday records a total of 434 abuse allegations against Chinese-backed projects over the last five years, with the highest yearly total of 148 occurring in 2025.
The allegations come as China works to solidify its position as the leading extractor and manufacturer of minerals crucial to green energy, microtechnology and high-end weapons systems. A separate report from the Australian think-tank Climate Energy Finance recently found that China has committed $120 billion in foreign direct investment into mineral mining and processing since 2023.
The U.S. and its allies have pushed over the last year to boost their own investments in the industry, as critical minerals have become a key point of leverage in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.
Indonesia saw the highest number of abuses of any country since 2021. The country is the largest producer of raw nickel, an essential ingredient in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, another industry where China enjoys a large advantage. Allegations described in the Business and Human Rights Center report included threats to workers’ health and safety, as well as water pollution and other forms of environmental contamination.
“China plays a central role in global transition mineral supply chains, and as such has a unique opportunity to raise the bar on human rights and community engagement at every stage of mining,” said Michael Clements, the Business and Human Rights Center’s executive director. “While there have been encouraging developments, from stronger regulations to more company engagement, there remains a gap between human rights commitment and action.”
Beijing Cracks Down on Online Outrage Over Animal Abuse
Videos of animal cruelty went viral on Chinese social media in June, causing widespread outrage and censorship from authorities. In late June, videos surfaced of four boys abusing and burning a dog and her puppies in Guangdong province.
The incident spawned a petition calling for a national animal protection law that drew 70,000 signatures. Animal cruelty is not illegal under existing Chinese law. Activists quickly raised enough money to purchase billboards in Hong Kong, Taipei and Times Square in New York calling for stronger animal protections.
The Chinese government announced on June 30 that it would hold those responsible for the abuse accountable, but also called on “netizens not to spread related information.” In the days that followed, the authorities blocked celebrity statements in support of animal protection, while ordering that billboard memorials be taken down in several cities.
“Animal abuse has clearly touched a nerve in China, especially among young people for whom pets have become an important source of companionship,” Maya Wang, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, wrote in a blog post. “Peaceful expressions of public outrage should never be considered a threat to state security.”
Germany Deports Uyghur Man to China
Germany deported a Uyghur man who had been seeking asylum back to China, his mother told the Associated Press earlier this week. Arafat Adil, 21, had been living with his family in Turkey since they moved there from China in 2017. His mother, Guzelay Adil, is now concerned that he will be detained in China, where the government has continued its yearslong crackdown against the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group that resides primarily in the historically contested region of Xinjiang.
“I don’t know what would happen if my son doesn’t return to Turkey,” Guzelay Adil said in an interview on Wednesday. She said that Arafat Adil landed in Beijing on Wednesday morning and was immediately taken into custody and interrogated.
Beijing routinely pressures other countries to deport Uyghurs who fled the country during the crackdowns of the past decade, part of its global strategy of transnational repression to silence dissidents. Turkey, once seen as a relatively safe haven for Uyghurs, who are an ethnically Turkic group, has become much more hostile to the group in recent years as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government seeks closer ties with China.
Despite this, Germany continues to treat Turkey as a safe country of origin, casting doubt on the prospects of Arafat Adil’s asylum claim. When reached for comment, the German Interior Ministry said that while there is no suspension of deportations for Uyghurs to China, “the current guiding principle of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees provides that, as a rule, protection should be granted to Uyghurs in cases involving China as the country of origin.”
Chinese Dissident Makes Daring Dinghy Escape
Longtime Chinese dissident Dong Guangping (董廣平) braved 40 hours on the open ocean in a small motorboat to reach South Korea last month, before arriving in Canada last week. Dong, who had been imprisoned repeatedly for commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, had attempted to flee China three times before: in 2015 to Thailand; in 2019 when he tried to swim to Kinmen, Taiwan; and in 2020, when he made it to Vietnam, but was later deported back to China.
“Living conditions back in the country are so terrible that being alive is little different than being dead. So there is no point fearing death,” Dong said in an interview with The Associated Press from his new home in Canada. “If you move forward, there’s a chance at life.”
Dong set out from Shandong province in China on May 24 in a rubber dinghy with nothing more than a cellphone and power bank for navigation, both of which soon ran out of charge. After a fog set in, he abandoned his original plan of making it to Japan and headed for the coast of South Korea.
Dong’s wife and daughter managed to settle in Toronto in 2015 after his flight to Thailand failed. Dong told The Associated Press that he is enjoying the freedom of living in Canada, and plans to continue with his activism. “My ultimate goal is for China to achieve constitutional democracy,” he said.
Hong Kong Bars Booksellers from Annual Book Fair
Hong Kong authorities barred two of the city’s oldest and best-known independent bookstores from exhibiting at the Hong Kong Book Fair earlier this month. One of the stores, Elmbook, announced soon afterward that it would close in April 2027 when its lease ends. Beijing-controlled media in Hong Kong have previously accused independent bookstores of selling books that push “soft resistance” against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
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