NGOs such as Freedom House play an important role in supplementing U.S. government agencies for international advocacy of human rights, an expert said.
China scored 9 out of 100 and was rated “not free” in the Freedom in the World 2025 report by the Washington-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Freedom House, which ranked 195 countries and 13 territories on political rights and civil liberties for 2024.
Political rights and civil liberties account for 40 and 60 points, respectively. China’s political rights were rated at minus 2 points, while its civil liberties received 11 points, for a total score of 9. China’s score has remained unchanged since 2021.
Freedom House’s report summary states: “China’s authoritarian regime has become increasingly repressive in recent years. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to tighten control over all aspects of life and governance, including the state bureaucracy, the media, online speech, religious practice, universities, businesses, and civil society associations.”
In Freedom House’s transnational repression report released in mid-February, China was named a major perpetrator of transnational repression in 2024. The Chinese regime has also been the “most prolific perpetrator” of transnational repression over the past decade, according to the NGO.
Chinese communist regime-controlled Hong Kong scored 40 points and was listed as a “partly free” territory. Taiwan continued to be rated “free,” with 94 points.
Hong Kong earned 9 points in political rights and 31 points in civil liberties, for a total score of 40 points. It dropped a point from last year to reach a new low of 40, down from 61 in 2017.
The report summary for Hong Kong noted that since the implementation of the CCP’s national security law (NSL) in 2020, freedom in the territory that “traditionally enjoyed substantial civil liberties and the rule of law under [its] local constitution” has been rapidly deteriorating on many fronts.
“The territory’s most prominent prodemocracy figures have been arrested under its provisions, and NSL charges or the threat of charges have resulted in the closure of political parties, major independent news outlets, peaceful nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and unions,” the summary reads.
By Alex Wu
