Pro-democracy activists increasingly vulnerable to authoritarian governments in Asia

A national flag of Thailand flutters in the wind with the city skyline in the background in Bangkok on September 9, 2026. AMAURY PAUL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption AMAURY PAUL/AFP via Getty Images Last month, 26-year old Laotian activist Khieo Lapchanh disappeared on his way to his apartment in a Thai province just outside Bangkok. He didn't show up for his registration interview with the United Nations Refugee Agency in Bangkok the next day, and hasn't been heard from since, according to a human rights group tracking his case. Days later, Australian democracy campaigner Tran Hiep, who was in Cambodia to meet with other activists of Vietnamese origin, similarly disappeared. Tran Hiep was due to meet his wife in Bangkok but never boarded his flight. This week, Vietnamese officials confirmed his arrest and that of the two other activists who were with him. Tran Hiep, an Australian activist, was detained in Vietnam after a trip to Cambodia. He is photographed here by his wife, Chloe Dang, on a trip to Japan in May, 2026. Chloe Dang hide caption Chloe Dang "My husband entered Cambodia legally, and now he's gone missing and it appears [he's] in a Vietnamese prison somewhere," said C...