Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/canada-china-beijing-hong-kong-race-and-ethnicity-6baa75f9c36f87c92e6f92f5e3ebcdd0
On Monday, December 6th, Amnesty International’s branch in Canada reported a cyber attack by China. The Non Governmental Organization focuses on human rights throughout the globe, and reported that they discovered the attack on October 5th, and from there hired experts and investigators, while they remained offline for 3 weeks due to the advanced technology used in the attack. Although there was no attempt to monetize the attack, Amnesty International recognized the attack as originated in China and was initiated by the Chinese state because of the software used to carry out the attack and the nature of the searches. The NGO has encouraged journalists and those working in their organization to be watchful, as attacks have included the hijacking of personal phones and devices so hackers can copy all the information on the devices and listen in through the devices. Amnesty has raised alarms about a system of internment camps in China that swept up a million or more Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, according to estimates by experts. China’s embassy in Canada did not offer a comment when asked.
This event is reflective of our ever changing world. Technology is becoming more expansive and developed, and cyber attacks like this one will continue to become more common. Due to these rapid developments, technology is also now one of the big subcategories of power that states can possess, and in this scenario China is flexing their power in this area of Amnesty International and Canada. Over the past few decades, China has become skilled in technology and production, so their expertise in cyber attacks is not surprising. It is also not a shock that they retaliated in this way following criticism and acknowledgement of the humanitarian crises occurring in their country, as historically the nation has tended to treat their citizens in a manner considered questionable by the US and Canada, and I believe that this may contribute to the overall tensions between China and western countries.
The technological power in this situation directly relates to the four subcategories of power discussed in international relations, including military, economic, technological, and cultural power. These types of power are what gives different states influence on the global stage, and this is clearly playing out here as China uses their power to influence a global actor. Amnesty International is also an NGO, an Non Governmental Organization that acts outside of the jurisdiction of other states and nations. This situation also relates to discussions in international relations because it relates to actors’ diplomatic relations with each other, and how it is common that there are small maneuvers made that don’t blow up into huge conflicts, but certainly affect how those actors view each other and how those alliances are fluid.