July 30 2025, Asia Meetup

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The Asia Regional Meetups are bimonthly text-based gatherings that bring together folks from the Asian region to share, connect, seek help, and release stress by celebrating each other. In addition, it is a time for us to find ways to support each other, and help us understand what is happening in our part of the world. If you cannot attend the monthly meetups, we are taking notes of each gathering and linking to them below.

The Asian community is connected during the week in different ways. Either through the Asian channel on the TCU Mattermost or via different events organized on various topics during the year.

Cybersecurity with Chinese Characteristics

• Date: Wednesday, July 30 2025
• Time: 4pm CST / 8am UTC  (What time is it in my city?)
• Facilitator: Mardiya
• Guest: Liu I-Chen and Michael Caster
• Location: Google Meet (Link to the meeting will be shared with attendees the week of the event)

👉🏾 RSVP Closed. Send a message to the Team CommUNITY staff on Mattermost for an invite.

Join us on the July 30, in this Digital Rights Asia Meetup combined with TCU's Community Knowledge Share webinar format, where Liu and Michael will talk about:

• What is the cybersecurity governance in the PRC?
• How did the PRC influence other countries and what are the cases from the Indo-Pacific region?
• What are the alternatives? Taiwan’s cybersecurity strategies as a counterexample

Michael Caster: Michael Caster is the Head of Global China Programme at ARTICLE 19, where he leads the organization concerning China and its international impact on freedom of expression and information, with a focus on the intersection of technology and human rights.

Liu I-Chen: Liu I-Chen is a Programme Officer at ARTICLE 19 with a background in policy and sociology. He focuses on the intersection of civil society, digital rights, and democratic resilience. His research and advocacy examine authoritarian influence in the digital landscape across the Indo-Pacific region.

Notes

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The A19 global China program works with two domains: the digital domain and the integrity domain. The lenses they take to their works looks at China’s digital silk and belt and road. The Asia pacific region will retain the main strategic partnership with China. China has been an active player in technology and governance in key tech like generative AI, and cybersecurity etc.

On the argument’s made in the A19 report, Taiwan is centered as more of a right based regional blueprint to digital governance. China is using cybersecurity as a platform to push government coordination and partnership as authoritarian tactics.

We could say it started in 2017 with the Cybersecurity in China, that had a high Human Rights impact. Example: Apple moved all China  ID accounts outside the country inside the country. This was a Cybersecurity legal framework without infrastructure security approach from China. Example: Chinese social media platforms have required people to register within these laws for surveillance, using the real name verification policy. White listing of VNPS where only government approved VPNs are allowed.

The key institution to understand this is the Cyberspace institution of China - critical for the rest of institutions - and it was created in 2011 and evolved and 2014 restructured and 2018 massively restructured and this administration moved under the party. These parties have greater authority. The CAC is part of the central propaganda department, so this is key to understanding the thread. This is foundational to the normativity that China implements, influencing countries around the region.

We can see three norms under the CAC that shapes China's power:

• Cyber sovereignty: we have the sovereign right to implement cyber norms in our territory
• Securitization of digital development: how information flows for the regime, pushing this narrative to other countries)
• Multi-lateratilism:
  • 1 China operates as multilateral global entities and it influences these bodies
  • 2 Creation of multilateral diaspora for competing with other forums
  • 3 Attacking independent academia and others social actors

Examples from the region:

• Looked at seven (7) countries in the region, where the digital silk road has had influence in the cybersecurity space. Most of these countries have expressed interest in modeling the great fire wall.
• The relation between China and Vietnam is key to understand because Vietnam is becoming a partner for countries wanting to challenge China. Vietnam has been emulating China's cybersecurity strategies, whitewashing cyber surveillance thanks to the UN partnership with Vietnam.  

Cyber security governance, norms and impact in the region

Indonesia is a reflection of the indo-pacific region, with a pattern: struggle with funding and capacity for cybersecurity laws implementation. When foreign solutions are introduced, it's not just technical, but also includes the norms and characteristics of the governance and laws. Similar MOUs in the Indo-pacific region  has been signed and embedded in the cybersecurity norms

The private sector like Huawei have also helped build cybersecurity norms, through capacity programs and centers. In Indonesia, Huawei is embedded in their networks , like providing 5G networks etc. The private sector model is popular in the region

These countries are echoing China's laws and regulations. For example with the localization of data. If we look beyond cybersec, like AI regulation, these countries are collaborating with China to reflect the use and abuse of AI by governments.These countries are imitating norms that have human rights concerns. These kinds of choices are not driven by security reasons, but by their capacity, funding and lack of choices.

The next question is what can we do about it

We can look into different cases of democratic counties balancing security and human rights protection, like Taiwan.

• First, it does face cybersecurity threats from China (like attacks on government systems). Information manipulation too, and Taiwan has maintained these balances. When we establish cybersecurity frameworks, they come with public consultations and public policy, allowing their citizens to comment on legal frameworks. Invites people with tech exercise to draft these policies, with a multi stake holder approach.
• Secondly, participation and innovation help the country take a rightful approach. Vibrant civil tech and society from Taiwan, allowing this community to bring solutions collaborating together.

Taiwan is defending HR under pressure. There are flaws but we can see what happens when a country applies HR perspectives to cybersecurity strategies.

One of the things we can do is empowering collective solutions, paying attention to physical security. Accountability for China with international laws for defending HR would be a great step too.

https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/cybersecurity-with-chinese-characteristics.pdf

https://www.article19.org/resources/china-africa-cooperation-beijings-vision-raises-free-expression-concerns/

Q&A

About the Huawei private partnership with China government: What would you recommend to other countries that have less resources?

First step, change of how we perceive these questions. There is a lack of understanding how Chinese investments in private sectors work. It is normal to see these collaborations as economic or tech engagement from Beijing. But these Chinese investments are dominant in other countries. Second step, understanding this: Local civil society would have to advocate for transparency technological partnerships.

Unpacking and contextualizing the actual and potential HR impact that comes along with private partnerships from China. This is applicable to any other region. There is a gap in the understanding of what is actually happening in China and the expectations with tech companies like Huawei. And we have to pay attention to the manipulation China has over international bodies that shapes China narratives normalizing surveillance, information control, and data manipulation.

Is there any pushback from other countries in the Indo-Pacific region?

The Philippines is a good example. In Vietnam there is a high level of protest against these kinds of legislations.