The HRIC Daily Brief is a daily selection of news stories and commentary related to human rights in China, drawn from Chinese- and English-language news and online media sources that we monitor daily. In addition to headlines and source links, HRIC also provides English translation of Chinese headlines.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Bo Xilai (薄熙来案)

China removes top judge in Bo Xilai-linked case
Agence France-Presse, August 15, 2013
http://bit.ly/14eOf8n

The Princeling of Manhattan
Foreign Policy, August 13, 2013
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/13/the_princeling_of_manhattan_bo_guagua?page=0,1

Corruption (腐败)

羊城晚报:上海高院崔亚东“后院起火” (Acting President of Shanghai High Court faces corruption claims by 70 former subordinates)
Yangcheng Evening News, August 16, 2013
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2013/08/201308161435.shtml#.Ug5AkdKsgyo

Related Twitter post:
X_Y ‏@XBB_S 42m, August 16, 2013
页面被删了,看来十有八九属实~ RT @freemoren: 因“敌对势力”言论引起哗然的上海高院代院长崔亚东,被贵州省公安厅70名下属实名举报:包括对开发商重大利益输送、建成面积1442平空中别墅、每年偷拿6吨茅台酒等 (Since the article has been deleted, it seems almost certain to be true ~ RT @ freemoren: Cui Yadong, the acting president of Shanghai High People's Court, whose remarks of "hostile forces" caused uproar, faces corruption claims by 70 former subordinates of the Guizhou Provincial Public Security Department, whom all used their real names. Allegations include: transferring benefits to major developers, building a 1442 square meter air-villa, and stealing six tons Chinese liquor every year, etc.)
https://twitter.com/XBB_S/status/368381502691610624

["Acting President of Shanghai High People's Court" is now blocked on Weibo]

英媒:专供中国法官的特价商品网站 (UK media: "Discount Products" website only available to China’s judges)
British Broadcasting Corporation, August 16, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/press_review/2013/08/130816_press_china_courtweb.shtml

Cyber security (网络安全)

China to probe IBM, Oracle, EMC for security concerns - paper
Reuters, August 16, 2013
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/16/us-china-ioe-idUSBRE97F02720130816

Disasters (灾难)

全国9577万亩耕地受旱 长江中下游等地旱情加剧 (1577 acres of farmland in China affected by drought, areas along Yangtze River most severe)
Guangming Daily, August 16, 2013
http://news.eastday.com/c/20130816/u1a7597471.html

江西受旱人口增至612万 180万人饮水困难 (Those affected by drought increases to 6.12 million in Jiangxi, access to drinking water difficult for 1.8 million people)
China Broadcasting Service, August 16, 2013
http://news.eastday.com/c/20130816/u1a7598027.html

Education (教育)

暑假成中国中小学生“第三学期” (Summer break becomes "third semester" for elementary and high school students in China)
China News Service, August 16, 2013
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2013/08/16/278821.html

Environment (环境)

China court rejects oil spill lawsuit
Agence France-Presse, August 14, 2013
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130814/china-court-rejects-oil-spill-lawsuit

Health (健康)

Violence against doctors on the rise in China
Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/08/16/violence-against-doctors-on-the-rise-in-china/

Human Rights Defenders (人权卫士)

法院终审维持对刘晓波妻弟11年原判 (Court upholds 11-year prison sentence of Liu Xiaobo’s brother-in-law)
Deutsche Welle, August 16, 2013
http://bit.ly/14kcRfY

Related:
China rejects appeal by Nobel laureate's brother-in-law
Reuters, August 16, 2013
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/16/us-china-rights-idUSBRE97F02Y20130816

Information Control (信息控制)

两头不讨好的“七条底线” (New government guidelines for celebrity microbloggers draw skepticism, ridicule)
Deutsche Welle, August 15, 2013
http://bit.ly/14Bz3RX

June Fourth (六四)

北京演唱会上,“坦克人”一闪而过
Amid tribute to King of Pop, an echo of Tiananmen Square
New York Times, August 16, 2013
CN: http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20130816/c16cirque/
EN: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/world/asia/amid-tribute-to-king-of-pop-an-echo-of-tiananmen-square.html

See related Weibo post (now removed):
郑维, August 16, 2013
听说〝太阳剧团〞上周五在北京五棵松万事达剧场演出《迈克尔.杰克逊不朽传奇》轻歌剧,舞台上的布景由3幅大银幕组成,银幕上显示〝坦克男〞照片。照片在荧幕上显示了4秒,观众席一片死寂。我和我的小伙伴们都惊呆了。(I’ve heard that during Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson, the Immortal” performance at Beijing Wukesong MasterCard Center, there was a short, 4-second display of the “Tank Man” picture on all of the three big screens, leaving the entire audience in a shocked silence. I’m flabbergasted!)
http://weibo.com/1829464883/A5324g6pl

朱镕基新书:“八九民运”时拒绝军队进上海 (New book: former premier Zhu Rongji refused to let military forces enter Shanghai during pro-democracy movement in 1989)
Deutsche Welle, August 14, 2013
http://bit.ly/14xxqVz

Related:
Blasts from the past
The Economist, August 16, 2013
http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/08/chinese-politics

Of politics, publishing and pushback in Beijing
Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/08/16/of-politics-publishing-and-pushback-in-beijing/

Land, Property, Housing (土地、财产、房屋)

China's rural land sale law hurting farmers
Channel News Asia, August 15, 2013
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/china-s-rural-land-sale/777664.html

Political and Economic Reform (政治经济改革)

中国学者:中国集体领导制度优于美国总统制 (Chinese scholar: China’s collective leadership is superior to U.S. presidential system)
British Broadcasting Corporation, August 16, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/08/130815_china_scholar_political_system.shtml

Rule of Law (法治)

China's push to reform its maligned court system met with skepticism
CNN, August 15, 2013
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/14/world/asia/china-judicial-system

Opinion (观点)

Where is China's Gorbachev?
The Atlantic, August 14, 2013
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/08/where-is-chinas-gorbachev/278605/