HRIC Weekly Brief: Pingxiang church raid, land activist Chen Jianfang still under house arrest three years after release, Fifth Plenum, 'black jail' book and Hong Kong press access rules

Full report

Church and activist items: on October 18, at least 20 individuals were detained by police at a private home in Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, where Christians were gathered to discuss scripture with Deng'an Church leader Mr. Ding; witnesses report at least 40 police officers involved in the raid, and the status of Ding and other church workers, still detained as of early last week, remains unclear — a report corroborated by ChinaAid's October 27 coverage (Ding Xing'an and Liang Youping still criminally detained), which this site records separately. According to Weiquanwang, land-rights activist Chen Jianfang remains under house arrest following her release in October 2023 after serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence for 'inciting subversion of state power'; she has reportedly been prevented from seeking hospital treatment or attending church, while friends attempting to visit have been turned away or taken to a police station, and Weiquanwang also reports that she lost 14 teeth as a result of torture and abuse during her imprisonment. [1]

Politics and legislation: the Central Committee held its fifth plenary session from October 26–29, the last major gathering before the 2027 Party Congress where Xi is expected to take a fourth term; analysts say it will ratify recent purges, replace those removed, and tighten internal control. China's legislature will meet November 2–6 to review ten bills, including an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law (likely headed to the full NPC in March), the Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law, and revisions to the Renewable Energy and Tax Collection Administration laws, and will also consider ratifying the treaty creating the Chinese-led World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The CPL reforms pushed by scholars include allowing counsel at interrogations and setting limits on so-called 'residential surveillance at a designated location.' Relatedly, Safeguard Defenders has released a new book, 'People's Republic of the Disappeared,' exposing the cruelty of 'residential surveillance at a designated location' ('black jails') through the first-hand stories of those subjected to it. [1]

Hong Kong and cross-border items: new Hong Kong land title rules would limit searches to nine specified purposes that do not include news reporting, so journalists would need the registrar's approval on public-interest grounds; the Hong Kong Journalists Association says the system, set to start in the first half of 2027, is a threat to investigative reporting. The brief also notes commentary on retired New Zealand judge Sir Terence Arnold, newly named as the sixth overseas judge on the Court of Final Appeal, whose record is argued to side with the state in security and liberty cases. Cross-border: Politico reports ICE has detained at least a dozen Hong Kongers at US airports since June and pressed them to sign voluntary-departure agreements, though they hold Biden-era Deferred Enforced Departure protection through early February 2027; DHS says the deferral 'does not confer legal status,' and there has been no announcement of an extension under Trump. [1]

Speech and individual cases: Weiquanwang reports that Shanghai activist Feng Zhenghu's Baijiahao account 'Zhenghu Jishi' was banned on October 18 after one article describing his experience promoting rule of law and the Constitution was found to 'contain violations'; he appealed, arguing only the single article should be pulled, and under China's real-name registration laws such disproportionate account bans heavily affect individuals' ability to re-access platforms. Forum 2000 and the International Coalition for Democratic Renewal call for the release of Burmese democracy advocate and US citizen Min Zin, detained since June 3 in Yunnan after being invited to a university workshop; he is held on suspicion of espionage, and the U.S. State Department designated him wrongfully detained in August. RFA reports that an 'open letter' purportedly from students at 14 Chinese universities appeared on October 26, the day the Party plenum opened, urging restored presidential term limits and democratic constitutional amendment; RFA could not independently verify the authors or whether the letter came from inside China. RFA also reports that police in Aksu confirmed bus driver Yasinjan Toxti died in custody in a 're-education' facility in 2018, contradicting the traffic-accident story given to his family; he had been detained repeatedly since 2016 over religious suspicion, including pausing his bus so passengers could pray, and his sister in Belgium says other relatives were later detained as well. [1]

Technology and surveillance items: Citizen Lab researchers say Anthropic's September threat report is concrete evidence that AI is being built into cross-border repression, citing a China-aligned operator who used Claude to track Uyghurs in Syria and recruit informants; they urge AI companies to publish dedicated reports, improve detection and refusals, notify affected communities and preserve evidence. Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang says police are in the final stages of talks with private shopping centers to link their cameras to the 'SmartView' surveillance network, with a target of 66,500 cameras by 2031 and facial-recognition capabilities planned. Verification note: this record is HRIC's compilation; each item is attributed to the original source HRIC cites (ChinaAid, Weiquanwang, Hong Kong Free Press, RFA, Politico and others), and this site has not independently verified each item. The record is marked as under ongoing verification; the Pingxiang raid and the UK Hong Kong report also appear as standalone records on this site for cross-reference. [1]