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.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Activist Guo Feixiong held 743 days without yard time
China Change, August 21, 2015
http://chinachange.org/2015/08/21/activist-guo-feixiong-held-743-days-without-yard-time/

中国打压维权律师人数升至276 (Number of lawyers affected in China’s crackdown reaches 276)
Voice of America, August 24, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-lawyer-20150821/2927493.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

全国人大法律委员会关于《中华人民共和国刑法修正案(九)(草案)》审议结果报告 (NPC Law Committee report on the public consultation results of draft China Criminal Law Amendment (9) )
Legal Daily, August 24, 2015
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index_article/content/2015-08/24/content_6235917.htm

Access to Information (信息公开)

China to unblock Facebook and Twitter during World Championships in Athletics
Hong Kong Free Press, August 21, 2015
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/08/21/china-to-unblock-facebook-and-twitter-during-world-championships-in-athletics/

China indicts dozens of journalists, media companies for “extortion”
21世纪传媒30人被公诉涉案金额逾亿元
Radio Free Asia, August 21, 2015
EN: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/extortion-08212015111154.html
CH: http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/ql2-08212015110752.html

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Netizens think official explanations for Tianjin's dead fish are as likely as fish drowning
Global Voices, August 21, 2015
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/08/21/chinese-netizens-slam-official-explanations-for-tianjins-dead-fish-after-explosions/

Related:
China says mass fish deaths unrelated to Tianjin blasts
Al Jazeera, August 21, 2015
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/china-mass-fish-deaths-tianjin-blasts-150821155203669.html

劳工维权人士张治儒被调查 劳工NGO或成当局“眼中钉” (Head of Labor rights NGO Zhang Zhiru investigated, labor organizations become ”thorns in the side” of authorities)
Radio Free Asia, August 21, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/yf1-08212015115513.html

Beijing turns into Forbidden City as war anniversary clampdown widens
The Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2015
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/08/21/beijing-turns-into-forbidden-city-as-war-anniversary-clampdown-widens/

Related:
律师接连被阻出境 阅兵将至北京银弹维稳 (Lawyer restricted from leaving the country, as parade approaches, Beijing uses “silver bullet” of social stability maintenance
Radio Free Asia, August 21, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/yf1-08212015115513.html

Government Accountability (政府问责)

天津爆炸:政府计划以市价回购受损房屋 (Tianjin explosion: Government plans to repurchase damaged homes at market value)
British Broadcasting Corporation, August 22, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/08/150822_tianjin_blast_compensation

Related:
Tianjin blast: Shock turns to anger and distrust after massive explosions
The Age, August 21, 2015
http://www.theage.com.au/world/tianjin-blast-shock-turns-to-anger-and-distrust-after-massive-explosions-20150821-gj4eoz.html

Another factory explosion rocks China. Another case of corruption exposed?
Christian Science Monitor, August 22, 2015
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2015/0822/Another-factory-explosion-rocks-China.-Another-case-of-corruption-exposed

Sons of top Chinese officials “used family links to cash in”
South China Morning Post, August 23, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1851783/sons-top-chinese-officials-used-family-links-cash

China expels brother of former senior official from Communist Party over graft
Reuters, August 21, 2015
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/21/us-china-corruption-idUSKCN0QQ0F420150821

Related:
中纪委:令计划之兄令政策被“双开”(Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: Ling Jihua and brother Ling Zhengce “doubly expelled”
British Broadcasting Corporation, August 21, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/08/150821_china_li_zhengce

No promotion for slackers on reform agenda, China's state media tells Communist Party cadres
South China Morning Post, August 21, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1851605/no-promotion-slackers-reform-agenda-chinas-state-media

Opinion and Editorial (观点和社论)

Why Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong needs to be more transparent
South China Morning Post, August 24, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1851942/city-beat-why-beijings-liaison-office-hong-kong-needs-be

Massive Tianjin blast highlights flaws in China’s governance model
Foreign Policy, August 19, 2015
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/19/china-tianjin-explosion-corruption-civil-society/

China's flawed corruption crusade: How the Tianjin disaster was the latest consequence of a system that places profit before public safety
The Independent, August 22, 2015
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/corruption-in-china-the-tianjin-explosion-offers-a-glimpse-of-how-the-country-really-works-10466255.html

China the great host, atrocities are ignored
IOL, August 24, 2015
http://www.iol.co.za/sport/china-the-great-host-atrocities-are-ignored-1.1904672#.Vdtw6iVVhHw