Skift, a digital media company and travel website, posted on 1 May 2026 an article titled "China Quietly Cancels a Digital Rights Summit in Africa" by Miguel Neves.
Evidence is mounting that Beijing was behind Zambia's decision to cancel at the last minute RightsCon 2026 involving an estimated 2,000 international participants from over 150 countries. RightsCon bills itself as the "world's leading summit on human rights in the digital age."
Beijing's concern was apparently attendance by civil society representatives from Taiwan. The conference was scheduled to be held at the Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka. China granted Zambia $30 million in 2022 to expand the facility, giving it considerable leverage to influence the cancellation of the summit by the government of Zambia.
