Human Rights Watch

Maya Wang

Interim China Director and Associate Director
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Maya Wang is the associate director in the Asia division at Human Rights Watch. Wang has researched and written extensively on a wide range of issues in China including the use of torture, arbitrary detention, human rights defenders, civil society, disability rights, and women’s rights. She is also an expert on human rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. In recent years, her original research on China’s use of technology for mass surveillance, including the use of biometrics, artificial intelligence, and big data, has helped galvanize international attention on these developments in China and globally.

Wang has been frequently quoted by international media and has published on major outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Foreign Affairs.

Wang is also on the board of the DC-based non-profit Hong Kong Democracy Council, and was named one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics in 2021.