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.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Access to Justice (司法公正)

十二届全国人大常委会第十六次会议24日开始在京举行, 继续审议刑法修正案(九)草案等
16th meeting of 12th NPC Standing Committee to start August 24, Beijing: deliberation of Criminal Law Amendment Bill (9) and other legislation to continue
Legal Daily, August 18, 2015
http://epaper.legaldaily.com.cn/fzrb/content/20150818/Articel01003GN.htm

浦志强案审限已至 律师未收到法院通知 (Trial deadline for Pu Zhiqiang case passes, lawyer yet to receive court notice)
Radio Free Asia, August 18, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/yf1-08182015102308.html

中国多位维权律师及人士被禁出境 (Many Chinese rights defense lawyers and defenders banned from leaving the country)
Voice of America, August 19, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/voa-news-hk-more-chinese-rights-attorneys-20150818/2922178.html

Related:
Mass suppression of lawyers reveals true nature of Xi’s “rule by law”
对维权律师的大规模镇压揭示了习近平“依法治国”的真实面目
Human Rights in China, July 16, 2015
EN: http://www.hrichina.org/en/mass-crackdown-chinese-lawyers-and-defenders
CH: http://hrichina.org/chs/zhong-guo-da-gui-mo-zhen-ya-wei-quan-lu-shi-he-huo-yue-ren-shi

Access to Information (信息公开)

China's official response to emergencies is “censorship”
Deutsche Welle, August 18, 2015
http://www.dw.com/en/chinas-official-response-to-emergencies-is-censorship/a-18656291

Related:
Tianjin lives up to its “city without news” nickname after deadly blasts
Global Voices, August 18, 2015
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/08/18/tianjin-lives-up-to-its-city-without-news-nickname-after-deadly-blasts/

U.N. Expert slams China on chemical blast secrecy
Associated Press, August 19, 2015
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/expert-slams-china-chemical-blast-secrecy-33177859

China says thousands arrested for online crime
Al Jazeera, August 19, 2015
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/china-thousands-arrested-online-crime-150818192622887.html

Chinese rights websites hit by suspected hacker attack, Great Firewall blockade
六四天网、中国舆论监督网再遭攻击
Radio Free Asia, August 18, 2015
EN: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/rights-websites-hit-by-suspected-hacker-attack-great-firewall-blockade-08182015111603.html
CH: http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/ql2-08182015102821.html

Google’s new Internet domain name blocked instantly
中國下手快 Google新域名迅遭屏蔽
Sina, August 12, 2015
http://finance.sina.com/bg/tech/udn/su/20150812/16271314690.html

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

“保持与大方向同步"
Keeping in-step with the overall direction
Beijing Evening News, August 18, 2015
http://www.kaixian.tv/gd/2015/0818/482313.html

Excerpt:

“中国政府高度赞赏境外非政府组织的积极作用,欢迎和支持境外非政府组织来华开展友好交流与合作,将进一步做好境外非政府组织服务管理工作。”日前,外交部、公安部、民政部在上海共同召开非政府组织座谈会,公安部部长郭声琨在会上明确表态。

"The Chinese Government highly appreciates the positive role of foreign NGOs, welcomes and supports foreign NGOs as they come to China and commence friendly exchange and cooperation, and will further advance the management of foreign NGOs," said Guo Shengkun, Minister of Public Security, yesterday in Shanghai at a joint discussion on foreign NGOs by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Public Security Ministry, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Behind China's slowdown, signs of labor unrest
CBS Money Watch, August 18, 2015
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/behind-chinas-slowdown-signs-of-labor-unrest/

Chinese police beat Tibetan women, elderly over dam protest
Radio Free Asia, August 18, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/protest-08182015165252.html

Government Accountability (政府问责)

时事大家谈:天津大爆炸,政府严控信息,民众追问真相 (“Let’s Talk Current Affairs”: Tianjin explosion, government control of information, public questioning the truth)
Voice of America, August 19, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/voa-voaio-tianjin-explosion-20150818/2922667.html

Xinhua says China blast warehouse did not have proper licence
Channel News Asia, August 18, 2015
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/xinhua-says-china-blast-w/2057854.html

Related:
State media: China firm used connections for hazmat permit
The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/state-media-china-firm-used-connections-for-hazmat-permit/2015/08/19/9f47c116-4641-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html

Mounting questions over deadly Tianjin blast prove biggest test of Xi Jinping's leadership
South China Morning Post, August 19, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1850627/mounting-questions-prove-test-leadership

China's work safety chief detained for alleged graft in midst of Tianjin blast fallout
传杨栋梁之子被带走调查 董培军与津门首虎武长顺交好
South China Morning Post, August 18, 2015
EN: http://www.scmp.com/news/article/1850699/chinas-work-safety-chief-detained-alleged-graft-midst-tianjin-blast-fallout
CH: http://www.nanzao.com/sc/national/14f43af74d783ae/chuan-8-12-jin-yang-dong-liang-la-ma-qi-ji-dong-pei-jun-yu-jin-men-shou-hu-wu-chang-shun-jiao-hao

Former vice governor stands trial for bribery
China Daily, August 18, 2015
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-08/18/content_21637222.htm

Hong Kong (香港)

Student protesters who pre-empted Occupy Central face justice–11 months on
South China Morning Post, August 19, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1850653/student-protesters-face-justice-11-months

Student activists charged a year after protesting at gov’t headquarters
Hong Kong Free Press, August 18, 2015
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/08/18/student-activists-charged-a-year-after-protesting-at-govt-headquarters/

Opinion and Editorial (观点和社论)

The politics of senseless tragedy
Medium, August 17, 2015
https://medium.com/@cmphku/the-politics-of-senseless-tragedy-12cc9230fa4

China’s disaster playbook falls short in Tianjin blasts
Hong Kong Free Press, August 19, 2015
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/08/18/chinas-disaster-playbook-falls-short-in-tianjin-blasts/

Lessons from Tianjin
The Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2015
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/08/19/lessons-from-tianjin/

Is the pressure being put on the University of Hong Kong payback for being a political troublemaker?
South China Morning, August 19, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1850749/pressure-being-put-university-hong-kong-payback-being

Musings on Supreme People’s Court Vice President Xi Xiaoming
Supreme People’s Court Monitor, August 19, 2015
http://supremepeoplescourtmonitor.com/2015/08/19/musings-on-supreme-peoples-court-vice-president-xi-xiaoming/

“打孩子会犯法”应成为社会常识
“Hitting children is a crime” should become common knowledge
China Education News Online, August 19, 2015
Available at: http://www.jyb.cn/opinion/pgypl/201508/t20150819_634279.html