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Analysis: Rubio’s Nomination to Head US Diplomacy Bodes Well for Human Rights in China 

In the News:

• Harassment and detentions
• Hong Kong
• Censorship and surveillance
• Beyond China

The Florida senator has an opportunity to strengthen Donald Trump’s mixed record on holding Beijing accountable for abuses.​​​​​

By Yaqiu Wang

The election of Donald Trump to the US presidency has raised concerns among many who care about human rights and democracy in China and around the world. As Freedom House has documented, the returning president has a record of antidemocratic and anti–human rights behavior and rhetoric, and his first administration featured a mixture of gains and missteps in its China policy. On the campaign trail, Trump indicated a hard-line stance toward Beijing regarding economic issues in particular, but referred often to his “very strong relationship” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, leaving observers unsure of how events might play out over the next four years.

Given this lack of clarity, Trump’s recent selection of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for US secretary of state has instilled some confidence in prodemocracy communities in China and the diaspora, as Rubio is known for his strong objections to Beijing’s human rights abuses.

Rubio once served as a cochair of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), an independent agency that monitors human rights and the rule of law in China, and he has long been one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Congress. His consistent advocacy for freedom in China stems from his belief that the global threat posed by the CCP regime is not just a matter of economic competition, but also a challenge to the survival of democratic norms.

In a 2022 speech, Rubio warned that the history of the 21st century would either be “a story of how a rising authoritarian power replaced a free society as the world’s most powerful country” or “the story of how the people of the United States, the freest, most prosperous and successful nation in the history of the world . . . rallied around the truth the country was founded on and ushered in a century of liberty and justice.” In 2020, Beijing sanctioned Rubio and five other legislators in retaliation for the imposition of US sanctions on Hong Kong officials who had restricted fundamental rights in the territory.

In some ways, the first Trump administration’s record on human rights in China was in line with Rubio’s views. For example, responding to what US officials determined to be genocide against ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang, the US government slapped sanctions on senior Chinese officials and blacklisted major Chinese companies for their complicity in surveillance and forced labor in the region. In the wake of the CCP’s dramatic crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the Trump administration revoked Hong Kong’s preferential economic status and sanctioned officials from both Hong Kong and the mainland. President Trump also signed into law the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, both of which had been sponsored by Senator Rubio. 

Other Trump-era polices were more problematic. The China Initiative, launched in 2018 by the Department of Justice to prosecute economic espionage and intellectual property theft, was widely criticized for causing ruinous financial and reputational harms to wrongfully targeted individuals, stoking suspicion against scholars of Chinese origin, and contributing to a climate of fear among academics with legitimate working ties to Chinese institutions. And despite its overall support for Uyghurs suffering persecution in Xinjiang, the Trump administration did not accept any Uyghurs through its refugee resettlement program or prioritize reviews of their asylum cases, leaving many at risk of being repatriated to China or stuck in the ponderous US asylum system. 

Trump himself has made a slew of deeply troubling comments. In 2018, he told a gathering of Republican Party donors that Xi being president for life “sounds good,” adding “maybe we’ll give that a shot someday.” During a meeting with Xi in 2019, he allegedly encouraged the construction of detention camps in Xinjiang. In a campaign interview this year, he praised Xi for being “a brilliant guy,” explaining that he “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.” Trump has also repeatedly called COVID-19 “the Chinese virus,” which studies show contributed to the rise of anti-Asian racism online.

Rubio, if confirmed by the Senate, and others who will serve in the new administration should resume the first Trump administration’s strong policies on human rights in China while working to avoid past mistakes. One of Rubio’s first actions as secretary of state should be to press for the immediate release of political prisoners in China and Hong Kong, in part by imposing sanctions on officials responsible for human rights violations in both locations. He should also ensure that the provisions of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act are fully enforced and that the US government continues to support civil society groups and human rights defenders in China.

It will be equally important for Rubio to vigorously counter any harmful rhetoric that makes light of autocracy or conflates the CCP with the Chinese people more broadly. As the world’s most influential democracy, the United States has a unique ability to appeal directly to Chinese citizens and champion their enduring desire for freedom. It should never squander this great competitive advantage against Beijing by neglecting democratic principles or blurring the distinction between a rigid authoritarian regime and the people it oppresses. 
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Yaqiu Wang is the research director for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House. This article was also published by the Diplomat on November 26, 2024. 

• Mass sentencing under security law: On November 11, three government-appointed judges handed down sentences, ranging from 50 months’ to 10 years’ imprisonment, to 45 prodemocracy activists involved in a landmark National Security Law trial. Over 50 activists were arrested in January 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary contest in 2020; 47 were subsequently charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion” under the sweeping legislation. Some 31 defendants pleaded guilty, while the remaining 14 were convicted in May 2024; 2 were acquitted. The sham trial and harsh penalties have heightened international concerns over Hong Kong’s deteriorating rule of law; human rights organizations, including Freedom House, have called for the activists’ immediate and unconditional release and for targeted sanctions to hold those responsible accountable.
• Software banned on Hong Kong government devices: On October 23, Ming Pao reported that government entities citywide were working to comply with IT security guidelines imposed in April. The guidelines ban government employees from using services including WhatsApp, Gmail, and WeChat on government-owned computers, unless approved by supervisors. The Hong Kong government cited security concerns as the reason for the restriction. Some departments are introducing devices dedicated solely to the restricted software, while others are developing alternative cloud-storage and communications solutions. The transition was due to be completed by the end of October, according to the report. The rule has triggered unease among government employees, with some fearing it might negatively impact productivity and work quality.
• Activists penalized for unlicensed fundraising: On October 31, the Eastern Magistrates Court heard a case involving 10 members of the League of Social Democrats, one of the few remaining prodemocracy parties in the city, according to a Hong Kong Free Press report. The party members faced a total of 26 charges of “raising funds without permission” and “displaying banners without permission” for their fundraising activities in 2023. Six of the accused pleaded guilty and received fines ranging from HK$800 (US$102.94) to HK$1,000 (US$128.67). The remaining four, who pleaded not guilty, will face trial. 

• New report on WeChat’s encryption: On October 15, Canada-based research group Citizen Lab published its security analysis of Micro Messenger TLS (MMTLS), the proprietary network-security protocol used by WeChat. MMTLS is based on the widely used Transport Layer Security protocol but includes modifications that weaken its cryptographic security. The analysis highlights how WeChat, like other software developed in China, deviates from international best practices, resulting in vulnerabilities. (Citizen Lab has previously revealed cryptographic weaknesses in several Chinese keyboard apps.) 
• Transnational repression against Uyghur rights event: The eighth General Assembly of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a Germany-based rights group, was targeted by Beijing-linked actors, according to a Voice of America (VOA) report published on October 22. Prior to the late-October assembly held in Sarajevo, hackers attacked a WUC employee’s email account and sent emails to participants, falsely claiming the meeting had been postponed. The Chinese embassy in Sarajevo reportedly urged local police to arrest Dolkun Isa, the WUC’s former president, while Chinese authorities pressured delegates in several other countries not to attend. The assembly nevertheless proceeded, although delegates reported continued harassment with individuals allegedly photographing them during the event.

• Access uncensored content: Find an overview comparing popular circumvention tools and information on how to access them via GreatFire.org, here or here. Learn more about how to reach uncensored content and enhance digital security here. 
• Support a prisoner: Learn how to take action to help journalists and free expression activists, including those featured in past issues of the China Media Bulletin here.
• Visit the China Media Bulletin Resources section: Learn more about how policymakers, media outlets, educators, and donors can help advance free expression in China and beyond via a new resource section on the Freedom House website.