William Nee
williamnee.bsky.social
William Nee
@williamnee.bsky.social
Senior Program Manager at the National Endowment for Democracy. Interests: IR, foreign policy, human rights, Catholicism, religious dialogue, business and human rights, trail running. Former Amnesty, CHRD, CLB; HKU & CU Buffs
Reposted by William Nee
China's new model of social governance merges Mao-era grassroots mobilization with digital surveillance and party-led service delivery. Nis Grünberg, Katja Drinhausen and Alexander Davey explore how China’s Communist Party is reinserting itself into daily life: merics.org/en/report/se...
August 20, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by William Nee
Labor activist #LiWangyang died under suspicious circumstances 13 years ago today while under police surveillance in Hunan province. A labor leader in the #Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, he is one of the figures our statement pays tribute to:
🔖 www.nchrd.org/2025/06/on-t...
June 6, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by William Nee
Exclusive: Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to gut the State Department’s human rights bureau as part of a sweeping reorganization of the country’s diplomatic service, according to internal department documents and people familiar with the plans.
Rubio outlines plans to drastically cut human rights offices in State
The cuts are part of a Trump administration plan to overhaul State, outlined in internal documents.
www.politico.com
May 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by William Nee
How Will the Trump Presidency Change EU-China Relations?

Very happy to join this @chinafile.bsky.social conversation together with a stellar lineup of great colleagues.

Thank you @goldkorn.bsky.social & @neysunm.bsky.social for putting it together!
www.chinafile.com/conversation...
How Will the Trump Presidency Change EU-China Relations?
Over the past few years, European countries have started to line up with the United States on China policy. But now, as Donald Trump destroys the trust European countries had in America, China is step...
www.chinafile.com
May 12, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by William Nee
Hong Kong Democratic Party to Disband; Amnesty International Hong Kong Office Opens Abroad
"Chinese officials or middlemen had warned [Democratic Party leaders] to disband or face serious consequences, including possible arrests."
Hong Kong Democratic Party to Disband; Amnesty International Hong Kong Office Opens Abroad
The latest political development in Hong Kong underscores the extent to which authorities have cleansed the city of democracy. On Sunday, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong’s last remaining opposition pa...
chinadigitaltimes.net
April 16, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by William Nee
NZ has never looked more isolated. The rules-based international order is being vaporised. The alliances that guaranteed NZ security since the end of WWII are finished. A new order is forming in Europe, but NZ is not yet named among the like-minded states. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
New Zealand’s stark choice: navigating uncharted waters
OPINION: New Zealand has never looked more isolated.
www.thepost.co.nz
March 13, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by William Nee
Jailed HRDs #QuanShixin & #ShiTingfu receive the 11th Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders. 🌹
Quan, a land rights defender, & Shi, a pro-democracy activist, are both sentenced for “picking quarrels”—a charge often used to silence critics.
🏆 www.nchrd.org/2025/03/winn...
March 13, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by William Nee
Now out! New report from our colleagues @amnesty.org on the abuse of electric shock equipment around the world. We were pleased to share technical & policy analysis, as well as our expertise on the trade in law enforcement equipment.
Read this important publication here 👇
March 10, 2025 at 10:33 AM
China’s System of Mass Arbitrary Detention

New research analyzing 1,545 prison sentences echoes U.N. concerns that arbitrary detentions “may constitute crimes against humanity.”

thediplomat.com/2025/03/chin...
China’s System of Mass Arbitrary Detention
New research analyzing 1,545 prison sentences echoes U.N. concerns that arbitrary detentions “may constitute crimes against humanity.”
thediplomat.com
March 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Some of the loudest voices applauding NED’s struggles are those who wish to see freedom fail. That should tell us everything we need to know.

www.nationalreview.com/2025/02/amer...
America’s Enemies Are Rooting for the Death of the National Endowment for Democracy | National Review
Some of the loudest voices applauding NED’s struggles are those who wish to see freedom fail. That should tell us everything we need to know.
www.nationalreview.com
February 26, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by William Nee
A Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Mandalay was stabbed to death by a group of armed men in Kangyi Taw Village, Shwebo Township, in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar/Burma on 14 February.
February 17, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by William Nee
#LuSiwei, the human rights lawyer extradited to #China from Laos, is barred from communication from detention with his family, languishing with health problems due to lack of medicine and malnutrition, said his wife, citing a recent visit by Lu's lawyer.
#ArbitraryDetention #Torture
February 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by William Nee
👉New study looks into whether political repression "works":

"Despite political tightening under Xi, we find evidence for increased frequency, larger size, and pluralization of grievances for protests during his rule." Much of like the 2022 White Paper protests - it started as Covid and snowballed.
January 10, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by William Nee
UK MPs repeatedly questioned whether Shein’s products are made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. Yinan Zhu, Shein’s lawyer in London, refused to answer. This evasive response raises serious concerns about Shein's transparency and accountability.

parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...
January 9, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by William Nee
"For now, it’s the Brazilian government that is taking action on behalf of the Chinese working class." by @tianjie.bsky.social
BYD, “Slave-gate” and the soul search about China’s cutthroat industrial model
The EV maker’s labor rights scandal in Brazil adds fodder to an ongoing debate about China’s industrial prosperity that appears to benefit few in the country
pandapawdragonclaw.blog
January 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by William Nee
CNN: #China has built or expanded more than 200 specialized detention facilities nationwide to interrogate suspects ensnared in Xi Jinping’s widening anti-corruption drive edition.cnn.com/2024/12/28/c...
China is building new detention centers all over the country as Xi Jinping widens corruption purge | CNN
More than 200 specialized detention facilities have been built or expanded across China, a CNN investigation finds, as the Chinese leader extends his crackdown beyond the ruling Communist Party to a v...
edition.cnn.com
December 29, 2024 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by William Nee
SHEIN's expected London IPO is already steeped in controversy over alleged links to forced labour. What does the rise of its ultra-fast model mean for workers' rights?

BHRRC's KnowTheChain breaks down key issues for investors ➡️ www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/b...
December 18, 2024 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by William Nee
There are over 1800 elderly victims documented as serving prison terms (potential death sentences).

Name: Yusupjan Mamut
Age: 55
Status: serving a 13-year, 11-month sentence (Nankou Prison), nephew also detained

shahit.biz/eng/37056/
December 17, 2024 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by William Nee
A pioneer and a legend
Stay tuned for Jerry’s memoirs in 2025 🙌
Jerome A. Cohen is a pioneer in the field of Chinese legal studies in the United States.

In this week’s interview with @evanpeng.bsky.social, he talks about growing repression in China’s legal system and where there is still room for optimism. https://buff.ly/4fehfHs
Jerome Cohen on China's Rule by Law - The Wire China
The veteran academic talks about growing repression in China's legal system and where there is still room for optimism.
www.thewirechina.com
December 11, 2024 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by William Nee
This UN Human Rights Day Olga Reshetylova from Media Initiative for Human Rights talks about their work documenting the crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, which they plan to submit to the ICC. Defending human rights involves accountability for those who violate them. #HRD
bit.ly/4iwhMrk
Olga Reshetylova, Media Initiative for Human Rights | Voices of Democracy: Ukraine’s Women Leaders
Olga Reshetylova is the Head of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian organisation monitoring human rights violations in the occupied territories. She is one of the seven women leading EED partner organisations featured in the short movie “Voices of Democracy: Ukraine’s Women Leaders”, which highlights how, at a time of war, many women-led organisations are leading efforts to protect human rights, safeguard free speech, and bring people together. The initiatives featured in the movie ‘Voices of Democracy: Ukraine's Women Leaders’ were supported thanks to the contributions of the European Commission and of the Government of Canada to EED.
bit.ly
December 10, 2024 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by William Nee
In what should be no surprise to anyone, Russian distributors are using info from Texas Instruments’ online shop to purchase semiconductors for civilian & military use. Orders are routed through third-party companies in places like Hong Kong to bypass sanctions
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Russia’s Military Found a Surprisingly Simple Way to Buy US Chips
A cache of internal Russian documents reviewed by Bloomberg reveals how Putin’s forces have been able to keep purchasing American semiconductors.
www.bloomberg.com
December 9, 2024 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by William Nee
Just published outside the paywall an unofficial translation of today’s Politburo readout. There is some interesting language in it ahead of the Central Economic Work Conference later this week

open.substack.com/pub/sinocism...
December Politburo meeting ahead of the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC)
The headline of the readout is “CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Holds Meeting to Analyze and Research 2025 Economic Work, Study and Deploy Party Conduct, Clean Governance and Anti-Corruption Wo...
open.substack.com
December 9, 2024 at 12:40 PM
Morning run view
December 8, 2024 at 12:13 PM