RightsCon cancelled after Chinese pressure to exclude Taiwan

LUSAKA — Access Now cancelled RightsCon 2026 days before the digital-rights summit was due to open in Zambia, saying the government had been pressured by China to exclude Taiwanese activists from the gathering.

The decision, announced late on a Friday by the New York-based advocacy group that organises the annual conference, follows weeks of behind-the-scenes friction with Zambian authorities and is the latest sign of Beijing's deepening reach into Africa's diplomatic and civic spaces.

Access Now said Zambian officials informed it that the government "had been pressured by China" over the conference "because Taiwanese civil society participants were planning to join us in person". The group said it had refused to drop those delegates.

What the government wanted from us in order to lift the postponement was conveyed to us informally from multiple sources: we would have to moderate specific topics and exclude communities at risk, including our Taiwanese participants, from in-person and online participation.

— Access Now, statement on the RightsCon 2026 cancellation

That demand was unacceptable, the group said, calling foreign interference the reason RightsCon 2026 would not proceed in Zambia.

The Zambian government had earlier announced it was postponing — not cancelling — the conference, saying it wanted further information on the themes and topics "to ensure they aligned with the country's national values, policy priorities and broader public interest considerations".

RightsCon is the world's largest annual gathering on human rights and technology, with sessions on internet censorship, electronic surveillance and cyber warfare. More than 2,600 participants were due to attend in person and another 1,100 online, drawn from over 150 countries. Last year's edition was held in Taiwan.

Taiwan's Minister of Digital Affairs, Lin Yi-jing, said in a Facebook statement that the cancellation reflected China's "unease over the ideas of freedom, democracy and rule of law that Taiwan and RightsCon represent". Human Rights Watch said Zambian authorities should publicly explain their decision.

The cancellation lands a week after Taiwan said Beijing had intervened to stop President Lai Ching-te from visiting Eswatini, the only African country with formal diplomatic ties to Taipei. Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles withdrew overflight permission for Lai's plane after Chinese pressure, Taiwan's government said. Lai made a surprise unannounced visit to Eswatini days later, writing on X that Taiwan "will never be deterred by external pressures".

Background

Zambia has long maintained close political and economic ties with China, principally through Chinese investment in the country's copper-mining sector. Beijing's one-China principle bars countries it has diplomatic relations with from maintaining formal ties with Taipei. China has expanded its diplomatic and commercial footprint across the continent and has been increasingly willing to lean on host governments over Taiwan-related events.

For Zambia's foreign-policy posture, the episode is awkward. Hosting a global digital-rights summit would have been a credibility-builder for President Hakainde Hichilema's government, which has cast itself as a democratic counterweight in Southern Africa. Data from past editions of RightsCon shows the conference draws delegates from civil society, technology companies, academia and governments — exactly the constituency a host country usually wants to court.

What to watch

Access Now has not said where RightsCon 2026 will reconvene, if at all, but the group's framing — foreign interference — sets up a longer argument about whether Lusaka can be reused for international digital-rights work. The Zambian government has not publicly responded to the foreign-interference allegation. Whether it does, and how, will shape how civil-society groups read its next overtures.

Taiwan's foreign ministry declined to comment to NPR when contacted for an earlier story. China's embassy in Washington said it was unaware of the developments.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions readers have been asking since Access Now scrapped the summit. Short answers follow, drawn from the Access Now statement and reporting by the Associated Press and NPR.

What is RightsCon?

In short, RightsCon is the world's biggest annual gathering on human rights and technology. The summit, organised by Access Now since 2011, brings together civil society, academics, technology companies and government officials. Research from past editions shows that 150-plus countries are typically represented, and the 2026 programme had registered 2,600 in-person and 1,100 online delegates before its cancellation.

Why was RightsCon Zambia cancelled?

The answer, simply put, is that Access Now refused to drop Taiwanese delegates after Zambian officials, citing pressure from China, asked it to do so. The Zambian government's own framing was that it was postponing the event for further information on themes. The key is that the two accounts diverge on whether the issue was content or Taiwan participation.

How did China reportedly pressure Zambia?

According to Access Now, the pressure was conveyed by Zambian officials informally from multiple sources. The group did not specify the channels or name particular officials. NPR's reporting added that the demand reached RightsCon director Nikki Gladstone in a late-April call from a Zambian official. China's foreign ministry has not commented.

Who organises RightsCon?

Access Now, a New York-based digital-rights advocacy group, has organised RightsCon since 2011. The 2025 edition was in Taipei. Data from the organisation shows that previous hosts include Brussels, Costa Rica and Tunis. In other words, the choice of Lusaka in 2026 was a deliberate step into Africa's digital-rights conversation.

What are Zambia's ties to China?

Analysis of Zambia's external economic relationships shows that China is among its largest single bilateral creditors and a dominant investor in copper mining. The answer is that those commercial ties give Beijing significant informal leverage. According to public filings and previous Reuters reporting, Chinese state-owned firms own or operate major copper concessions on the Copperbelt.

Sources

Associated Press: Rights summit in Zambia is cancelled after Chinese pressure to exclude Taiwanese activists, 2 May 2026. National Public Radio: Organizers of a canceled human rights conference in Zambia say China intervened, 8 May 2026. Access Now: statement on the RightsCon 2026 cancellation.