The Department of Homeland Security added 43 Chinese companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List on July 31, 2026, bringing the total to 187 entities. The expansion targets companies across pharmaceutical, metals, cotton, food, and lithium sectors, including major capacitor manufacturer Hunan Aihua Group, over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Lam Wing-kee, the Hong Kong bookseller who was abducted and detained by mainland Chinese authorities in 2015 and later publicly recounted his ordeal, has died in Taiwan at age 70. Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te expressed deep sadness at his passing.
China's Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress has come into force, drawing international condemnation from rights groups, Taiwan, and the UN for threatening minority freedoms and potentially enabling legal action against critics overseas. The law mandates Mandarin language requirements and pushes ethnic minorities including Uyghurs and Tibetans toward assimilation into a unified Chinese national identity.
On the 37th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Chinese authorities blocked memorial activities including warning families not to visit graves and intercepting a Hong Kong artist, while drawing criticism from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Taiwan. Despite censorship efforts, information about the crackdown continues to reach younger Chinese citizens.
