Announcement Feb 2, 2024 Beyond Utopia now available on streaming platforms The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce that “Beyond Utopia,” a BAFTA-nominated and du-Pont-Columbia Award-winning film that follows the harrowing journeys of several individuals as they attempt to escape North Korea, is now available to stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and YouTube.
Blog Post Feb 1, 2024 Burma’s Third Coup Anniversary Three years ago today, the Burmese military junta, led by Min Aung Hlaing, seized power from the democratically elected government in a coup.
Blog Post Jan 19, 2024 Shadows of Support: Japan’s Ties with Burma’s Military Junta In February 2021, the Burmese military junta staged a coup against the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy Party (NLD) and invalidated the results of the November 2020 general election.
Op-Ed Jan 16, 2024 Taiwan’s ruling party needs to double down on democracy Taiwan’s incumbent ruling party, the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), may have been able to clinch a victory in a tight presidential race on Saturday, but it’s much too early to bask in the win.
Blog Post Jan 15, 2024 Beyond Borders: China’s Transnational Repression of Uyghurs In March, Turkish police raided a bookstore in Istanbul, accusing it of selling copies of Uyghur books banned by the Chinese regime without proper copyright.
Announcement Jan 3, 2024 “Beyond Utopia” shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at 2024 Oscars The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce that “Beyond Utopia,” a film following the desperate and harrowing journeys of several individuals as they attempt to escape North Korea, has landed on the Oscars shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, Variety reported.
Video Series Dec 4, 2023 Chemi Lhamo || All for the Land of Snow: A Story of Tibetan Resilience At the 2023 Oslo Freedom Forum in Taiwan, Tibetan activist and community organizer Chemi Lhamo took the stage to expose the Chinese government’s tactics to repress the Tibetan people and called upon the international community to join in solidarity to fight against these abuses.
Video Series Dec 4, 2024 Joey Siu || From Hong Kong to the World: Uniting in Solidarity Hong Kong activist and HRF Freedom Fellow, Joey Siu, took to the 2023 Oslo Freedom Forum in Taiwan stage to call for international advocacy efforts for democracy and freedom in Hong Kong.
Blog Post Nov 17, 2023 Worldconned: How China Co-Opted Sci-Fi’s Crown Jewel Amidst the Uyghur Genocide Last month, Chengdu, China hosted the 81st World Science Fiction Convention. Known as Worldcon, this annual convention is the site of the prestigious Hugo Awards—sci-fi’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Press Release Nov 14, 2023 HRF Supports South Korea Decision to Uphold Freedom of Speech in Face of North Korean Threats The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns the North Korean regime’s recent threats following a September South Korean Constitutional Court decision striking down a law that banned private activists from sending informational leaflets into the dictatorship of North Korea
Press Release Oct 20, 2023 HRF Sponsors Art Exhibition “Singing About North Korea: Heaven on Earth” at South Korea’s National Assembly The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announces the upcoming art exhibition, “Singing About North Korea: Heaven on Earth,” dedicated to raising awareness of North Korean human rights issues.
Press Release Oct 13, 2023 The Governments of South Korea and the US Must Demand Xi Jinping to Stop Forcibly Repatriating North Korean Defectors On the evening of Oct. 9, Chinese officials swiftly repatriated North Korean defectors back to North Korea through Hunchun, Tumen, Changbai, Nanping, and Dandong.
Press Release Oct 9, 2023 HRF to UN: Do Not Elect Dictatorships to Human Rights Council On Oct. 10, 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) face the crucial task of filling 15 of the 47 seats of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Blog Post Sep 24, 2023 International Day of Education: An Afghan Woman’s Crime to Learn The right to education — to learn, to be curious, to explore the past and present freely — is critical to the development of individuals, civil societies, and nations as a whole. A robust and fair education system transforms societies for the better. In fact, education and democracy are considered highly correlated and intertwined.
News Sep 21, 2023 21st-Century Gulag – HRF x The Signal As the United Nations General Assembly convened its annual meeting in New York City this week, a small event on the sidelines provoked anger from China’s UN mission.
Blog Post Jul 31, 2023 Threats Against Journalists in Asia: Online Trolling and Jailing of Reporters A free and independent press is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. It allows citizens to access information and hold their leaders accountable.
Blog Post Jul 19, 2023 HRF Brings UN Attention to Rights Abuses in Congo, Malaysia, and Senegal Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted contributions to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) regarding the Republic of the Congo, Malaysia, and Senegal.
Blog Post Jul 13, 2023 All Fabricated: Shein’s Influencer Trip to a Guangzhou Factory In June, the global fast-fashion retailer Shein treated a group of social media influencers to an all-expenses paid trip to Guangzhou, a city in southeast China. Glamorous at the onset, Shein took these “brand ambassadors” — individuals paid to endorse the company’s products — on tours of the company’s “aboveboard” factories. Soon after, the individuals shared raving reviews of the working conditions, suggesting no signs of maltreatment or forced labor.
Blog Post Jul 7, 2023 What’s Happening in Hong Kong? Q&A with HK Activist Sunny Cheung As further proof that the Chinese Communist Party isn’t letting up on infringing on Hong Kong’s autonomy and the freedom of its citizens, police on Monday issued arrest warrants for eight overseas Hong Kong activists for offenses such as foreign collusion and incitement to secession under the national security law.
Announcement Apr 24, 2023 Meet Oslo Freedom Forum Speaker Pastor Kim Meet Pastor Seungeun Kim (@Pastorkim_Caleb), a prominent human rights advocate, the head of the Caleb Mission, a Christian church based in South Korea, and a 2023 Oslo Freedom Forum speaker.
