In Asia, the assault on civil society and fundamental freedoms has persisted amid the global pandemic. Data released on Tuesday (8 Dec) by the CIVICUS Monitor shows that out of 25 countries in Asia, four – including China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea – are rated ‘closed’, nine ‘repressed’, and nine ‘obstructed’.

Civic space in South Korea and Japan is rated as narrowed, while Taiwan is the only country rated open.

People Power Under Attack 2020, an annual report from the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration that rates and tracks respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries, shows that basic freedoms are backsliding across the globe.

87 per cent of the world’s population now live in closed, repressed, or obstructed countries. This trend is reflected in Asia, where civic rights are declining.

“Our research shows that civic freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, continue to be violated across the region. The percentage of people living in Asian countries with closed, repressed or obstructed civic space is nearly 90 per cent,” said Josef Benedict, Asia-Pacific Civic Space Researcher for CIVICUS.

Singapore’s civic space remains ‘obstructed’

In Singapore, where civic space is rated ‘obstructed’ the CIVICUS Monitor has documented the ongoing use of restrictive laws, including defamation laws, to criminalise criticism of the authorities by human rights defenders, journalists and critics.

The Public Order Act has been systematically used to clamp down on gatherings critical of the state and even on solo peaceful protests. In August 2020, human rights defender Jolovan Wham was handed a 10-day prison sentence for violating the Public Order Act in November 2016 for his involvement in an indoor public discussion. He is facing other charges for his peaceful activism.

Human rights lawyer M Ravi has faced harassment and was targeted in March 2020 under Singapore’s vaguely worded contempt of court law while independent media website The Online Citizen (TOC) editor Terry Xu is facing defamation charges for information released in his capacity as an independent journalist.

The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), a law to combat misinformation, has been used to target and harass government critics. Human rights groups have highlighted how the POFMA contains vague and overly broad provisions, offers unfettered discretion to ministers and government authorities and lacks clear protection for the freedoms of expression, opinion and information.

In June 2020, Facebook was reported to have described the POFMA as “severe” and a law that risks stifling the freedom of speech.

Press freedom is severely restricted in Singapore, and New Naratif – a critical multimedia website for Southeast Asian journalism, art and research – was targeted by the authorities.

In May 2020, a correction direction (CD) was issued under Section 11 of the POFMA law to news outlet New Naratif regarding a video on the abuse of laws in Singapore. In September 2020 a police report was filed against New Naratif under the county’s restrictive election laws.

Since the last global report there has been a further decline in the Philippines, which has been downgraded from ‘obstructed’ to ‘repressed’.

Contributing to this downgrade are ongoing attacks on media freedoms

ABS-CBN, the largest media network, was forced off air, depriving people of critical information during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Rappler journalist Maria Ressa was found guilty of ‘cyber-libel’ in a case which press freedom groups describe as politically motivated.

In the Philippines, human rights defenders have been attacked and killed with impunity while others have been criminalised or subjected to ‘red-tagging’, a practice of labelling individuals and groups as communists or terrorists as a result of their work.

A new anti-terrorism law passed in July 2020 gives law enforcers exhaustive powers and provides few safeguards against abuse, leaving it open to exploitation by those seeking to silence dissent.

According to the report, the top violations to political and civic freedoms in the region include the use of restrictive laws to criminalise human rights defenders and opponents, censorship, the harassment of activists and critics, and a crackdown on protests.

Across Asia, the authorities are using draconian laws to undermine fundamental freedoms and stifle dissent. Laws relating to national security, public order and criminal defamation are most commonly used to silence opposition.

In at least 16 countries, human rights defenders were prosecuted. In China, where civic space is rated closed, scores of activists, lawyers and critics were detained on vague and overly broad charges. The Communist Party has also escalated its repression in Hong Kong.

In Cambodia, Hun Sen’s government has used ‘incitement’ laws to prosecute dozens of activists, while in Bangladesh, the Digital Security Act is the weapon of choice used by the authorities to pursue media workers, activists, academics, students, and anyone critical of its handling of the pandemic.

Censorship is another major threat to civic and democratic freedoms in Asia

China deployed its extensive censorship regime to block foreign websites, cover up persecution in Xinjiang and Tibet, and censor articles and social media posts about the coronavirus.

In Pakistan, the authorities have attempted to silence media outlets such The Dawn Media Group and The Jang Media Group for their critical reporting, as well as block online content.

In Thailand, authorities used an emergency decree passed to handle the pandemic to instead target media outlets covering pro-democracy protests in the country.

The CIVICUS Monitor is also alarmed by reports of online and offline harassment of activists and journalists.

Vietnam continues to harass those who criticise the one-party regime including activists and bloggers. Many were kept under surveillance, or detained for months without access to legal counsel and subjected to abusive interrogations.

In Indonesia, those speaking up on the severe violations in West Papua were subjected to digital attacks, smear campaigns and surveillance.

In Sri Lanka, activists and families of survivors seeking accountability for crimes during the civil war have been intimidated and put under surveillance.

Across the region, protesters continued to stand up for their rights, despite risks and restrictions

In numerous countries protests were disrupted and protesters were arrested or faced excessive force with impunity.

In Hong Kong, pro-democracy protest leaders continue to be arrested and charged.

In Myanmar, dozens of people protesting land grabs and internet shutdowns have been charged, while in Thailand the authorities escalated their crackdown on youth-led democracy protests.

“Governments in Asia have resorted to restrictive laws to criminalise human rights defenders and critics over the year, with the pandemic providing an easy cover against scrutiny. China-style censorship is on the rise with states targeting activists and journalists exposing state abuses including their handling of COVID-19,” said CIVICUS.

“Activists also faced various forms of harassment including surveillance, smear campaigns and digital attacks when speaking up, and the clamp down on protests persisted,” it added.

India, downgraded to ‘repressed’ in 2019, remains a country of concern. There has been continued persecution of human rights defenders, student leaders, journalists and those protesting the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

A variety of restrictive laws, including national security and counter-terrorism legislation, have been used to detain activists. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has been used to target outspoken groups while the authorities continue to impose harsh and discriminatory restrictions in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

Despite this onslaught against civic freedoms, there have been some small victories this year

In Afghanistan, in January 2020, the authorities made a public commitment to protect human rights defenders.

In Indonesia, a court ruled in June 2020 that the government’s decision to impose an internet blackout in the West Papua region violated the law.

And human rights groups played a key role in bringing Myanmar before the International Court of Justice.

Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor to provide an evidence base for action to improve civic space on all continents.

The Monitor has posted more than 500 civic space updates in the last year, which are analysed in People Power Under Attack 2020.

Civic space in 196 countries is categorised as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open, based on a methodology which combines several sources of data on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, and expression.