Washington, D.C. — The United States Department of State released it's 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Tuesady, detailing surveillance and control, arbitrary detention, arrest, imprisonment, and severe restrictions on freedom of expression, belief, and movement in East Turkestan, Hong Kong, and Tibet. It also reported on the Chinese government's transnational repression of Tibetan activists in free countries.
The U.S. State Department released its 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Washington, D.C. on August 12, 2025. The report highlighted severe restrictions on freedom of expression and press freedom, citing the arbitrary arrest and criminal prosecution of journalists, lawyers, writers, bloggers, dissidents, petitioners, and other individuals. It also highlighted restrictions on internet freedom and religious freedom.
State Department's report states, "the (Chinese) government’s efforts to assimilate ethnic and religious minority groups culturally, such as its “Sinicization” campaign, resulted in ethnically based restrictions on movement, including curtailed ability to obtain travel documents, greater surveillance and presence of armed police in ethnic minority communities, and legislative and administrative restrictions on cultural and religious practices."
"The (Chinese) authorities placed many citizens under house arrest during sensitive times, such as during the visits of senior foreign government officials, annual plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, and “sensitive” anniversaries in Tibetan areas and Xinjiang," the report documented.
The State Department also reported on the situation of Tibetan political prisoners who were unjustly imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and for sharing their concerns about their culture, language, religion and environment. "Many political prisoners remained either in prison or held under other forms of detention, including Tibetan Buddhist monks Go Sherab Gyatso and Tenzin Khenrab; Tibetan entrepreneur Dorje Tashi; Tibetan singers Lhundrub Drakpa and Trinley Tsekar," the report stated.
"The law prohibited the physical abuse and mistreatment of detainees and forbade prison guards from coercing confessions, insulting prisoners’ dignity, and beating or encouraging others to beat prisoners. There were credible reports that (Chinese)authorities routinely ignored prohibitions against torture, especially in politically sensitive cases," the State Department said.
The report also wrote about the Chinese government's transnational repression and how they extend their influence into free countries and attempt to silence the freedom of expression and protests by Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong activists. "The (Chinese) government and its agents engaged in acts to intimidate or exact reprisals against individuals outside the country, including against Uyghurs and other ethnic minority group members, religious and spiritual practitioners, dissidents, foreign journalists, and Chinese students and faculty members on campuses and in academic institutions overseas."
The report added by saying, "The government, CCP, and their agents continued to use violence and threats of violence against individuals outside the country for political purposes, including to repress dissent. A July report released jointly by the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Students for a Free Tibet."
Furthermore, the report revealed that the Chinese government and its agents had carried out cyber-attacks against Tibetans and Uyghurs living in exile. "The (Chinese) government’s targeting with cyber attacks of overseas organisations linked to ethnic minorities, primarily Tibetans and Uyghurs (such as Uyghurs in Central and Southeast Asia and the Tibetan administration in exile in Dharamshala). Other targets comprised hospitals in Taiwan and 14 foreign governments, including those of India."
