Apr 28, 2026
‘Escalating efforts’: A year after China Targets, Beijing’s global campaign against dissenters continues
In 2025, China was the most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression, a new Freedom House report found.
Transnational repression
Apr 27, 2026
Phony whistleblowers, fake journalists and cyber spies: ICIJ network targeted after China Targets probe
Shortly after publication, a slew of fake ICIJ reporters approached journalists, Taiwanese officials, and human rights advocates seeking sensitive data. With Citizen Lab, we investigated.
Mar 11, 2026
Italian authorities order expulsion of Chinese agents responsible for spying on dissidents
The Interior Ministry acted days after local media reported that Chinese state actors in 2024 hacked the database of a police unit assigned to protecting Chinese dissidents.
Feb 05, 2026
Canada names first foreign interference watchdog
Canadian parliament voted to create the position over a year and a half ago to counter a rising threat of transnational repression.
Jan 29, 2026
New EU report urges more aggressive action against transnational repression
The report cites ICIJ’s China Targets investigation and calls for improved coordination across the bloc.
Dec 23, 2025
A film festival silenced — and the global reach of China’s repression
The abrupt cancellation of an independent Chinese film festival in New York reveals how Beijing and its proxies increasingly pressure critics abroad — a pattern documented by ICIJ and now drawing alarm at the United Nations and the European Parliament.
Nov 14, 2025
European Parliament pledges to tackle transnational repression against human rights defenders
A parliamentary report identified China and other authoritarian regimes as harassing and attacking dissidents abroad, echoing findings from ICIJ’s China Targets.
Oct 15, 2025
New UN report highlights China’s alleged targeting of human rights activists
The report, which recounts recent reprisals from two dozen countries, underscores ICIJ’s reporting on how Beijing abuses international institutions in its campaign to silence critics abroad.
Oct 02, 2025
Purported dissident who monitored Chinese activists in Germany convicted of espionage
Jian Guo, a naturalized German citizen, featured in ICIJ’s China Targets investigation that revealed how Beijing uses civilians to spy on regime critics around the world.
Aug 21, 2025
Canada to announce new foreign interference watchdog to fight transnational repression
Just months after ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, the country has confirmed that countering foreign influence is an “utmost priority” for the government.
Aug 01, 2025
Parliamentary committee labels China ‘flagrant’ perpetrator of transnational repression on UK soil
A new report details how China and other authoritarian regimes are increasingly targeting critics who sought refuge in the country.
Jun 23, 2025
China uses dissidents-turned-spies to infiltrate overseas activist groups, as authorities flounder
Last week in Canada, world leaders jointly condemned transnational repression as a threat to sovereignty. But at home, many are unprepared to deal with China’s far-reaching intimidation of its dissident diaspora, ICIJ’s China Targets investigation has found.
Jun 19, 2025
Inside China Targets: The data footprints of China’s transnational repression
How ICIJ’s data-driven methodology underpins our investigation that exposed China’s global repression campaign.
Jun 16, 2025
Poor coordination, information gaps hamstring EU efforts to combat China’s repression of overseas dissidents
In the wake of ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, European officials said governments should step up measures to stop state-sponsored harassment of activists and minorities living in the EU.
Jun 13, 2025
New report details Beijing’s targeting of protestors abroad
ARTICLE 19, a freedom of expression advocacy organization, documented heightened transnational repression during state visits, echoing the findings of ICIJ’s China Targets investigation.
Jun 03, 2025
Canadian lawmakers urge action against transnational repression in wake of China Targets probe
Members of Parliament have called on the newly elected government to enforce a law against transnational repression following reports of Chinese authorities targeting Canadian residents.
May 27, 2025
Beijing targeted friends of US-based reporter amid campaign against Radio Free Asia, documents reveal
Xinjiang police records detail a yearslong Chinese government push to silence the news outlet, which the Trump administration has dismantled.
May 15, 2025
Ahead of Xi Jinping’s state visit to Malaysia, police arrested dozens of Falun Gong followers
Kuala Lumpur police said the practitioners broke the law by holding a meeting and detained the group for days, only releasing them after Xi left the country.
May 07, 2025
Danish politicians call for government inquiry into transnational repression following China Targets investigation
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum condemned Beijing’s “scary” tactics and said European governments should do more to protect dissidents.
May 02, 2025
Officials respond as China Targets highlights Beijing’s tactics to silence dissent across continents
ICIJ’s partners found dozens of cases where critics of the Chinese government were tracked down and targeted in countries from Belgium to Korea and beyond.
Apr 29, 2025
Chinese authorities exploited Interpol and strong-armed one of the world’s richest men to pursue a target
The case involving Alibaba’s Jack Ma shows how China weaponizes the international police agency for political ends.
Apr 29, 2025
As President Xi Jinping traveled the world, police swept peaceful protesters off the streets
In country after country, local authorities detained and silenced activists to shield the Chinese leader from dissent.
Apr 28, 2025
Cyberattack against Uyghur rights activists shows hallmarks of Chinese repression tactics, researchers say
Citizen Lab found the advocates, including some featured in ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, were targeted with malicious software disguised as a Uyghur-language tool.
Apr 28, 2025
At the UN, China is deploying a growing army of puppet organizations to monitor and intimidate human rights activists
Beijing-backed “GONGOs” have transformed the Palais des Nations into a hostile environment for critics of President Xi Jinping.