Classification guide
What a label says—and what it does not.
Two separate classification systems prevent a strong finding on one question from smuggling in an unsupported conclusion on another.
Axis one
Evidence status of the conduct
- Adjudicated
- A court judgment, guilty plea, conviction, acquittal, dismissal, reversal, or final civil finding. The case narrative must still distinguish which particular claims received that treatment; one adjudicated count does not prove every allegation in a charging document.
- Officially alleged or attributed
- A public charge, complaint, sanction, or named government attribution that has not been finally adjudicated. The case narrative must still distinguish which particular claims received that treatment; one adjudicated count does not prove every allegation in a charging document.
- Corroborated investigation
- Multiple independent credible sources or direct records materially corroborate the conduct, without a final adjudication or formal attribution. The case narrative must still distinguish which particular claims received that treatment; one adjudicated count does not prove every allegation in a charging document.
- Disputed or developing
- Material facts or procedural outcomes remain contested, incomplete, or actively changing. The case narrative must still distinguish which particular claims received that treatment; one adjudicated count does not prove every allegation in a charging document.
- Lawful but strategically harmful
- The transfer or learning was permitted or contractual; later competitive or strategic consequences are documented or explicitly attributed. The case narrative must still distinguish which particular claims received that treatment; one adjudicated count does not prove every allegation in a charging document.
Axis two
PRC-state nexus
- Court-established or admitted
- A court finding, verdict-supported record, signed admission, or equivalent adjudicative record establishes that a PRC state, party, military, intelligence, or government entity directed, employed, or knowingly participated in the relevant conduct.
- Officially attributed
- A named government or competent authority publicly attributes the conduct to a PRC state-linked actor, but the nexus has not been finally adjudicated in the cited record.
- Documented affiliation or support
- Public evidence documents employment, funding, benefits, organizational affiliation, or support connected to a PRC state body. This label does not itself establish direction of the misconduct.
- No state nexus established
- The reviewed record establishes or alleges conduct by individuals or organizations but does not establish relevant PRC-state direction or support. This is not proof that no nexus existed.
- Unknown / insufficient public evidence
- Available public evidence is insufficient to assign one of the other labels responsibly.
Stage-level evidence
The framework does not assume a completed chain
Relationship, access, acquisition, movement, downstream use, and consequences are six questions—not six required conclusions. Every stage carries one of these labels.
- Adjudicated or admitted
- A court finding, verdict-supported record, or signed admission establishes this stage.
- Documented
- Direct public records establish the event, without necessarily resolving criminal intent or every disputed detail.
- Supported inference
- The total cited record makes the proposition more likely than not in our editorial judgment; it is not a court finding.
- Officially alleged or attributed
- A charging document or named authority states the proposition; it remains an allegation or attribution.
- Disputed
- Material evidence or competing accounts prevent a single unqualified conclusion.
- Interrupted
- The record shows an attempted path was stopped before the stated downstream event was completed.
- Not established
- The reviewed record does not establish that this stage occurred.
Example
Convicted theft. No state nexus established.
The Sinovel case is adjudicated because a jury convicted the corporation. The cited record does not establish PRC-government direction, so the state-nexus label remains separate.