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, December 16, 2015

Access to Justice (司法公正)

China's plainclothes officers a force against dissent
Associated Press, December 15, 2015
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_PLAINCLOTHES_POLITICS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-12-15-05-49-52

Related:
中国频为要犯减刑 被指为削减浦案影响 (Are authorities using sentence reduction in major cases to eclipse impact of Pu Zhiqiang prosecution?)
Radio Free Asia, December 15, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/xl1-12152015101200.html

Access to Information (信息公开)

China, Egypt imprison record numbers of journalists
中国、埃及关押新闻工作者人数创记录
Committee to Protect Journalists, December 15, 2015
EN:https://www.cpj.org/reports/2015/12/china-egypt-imprison-record-numbers-of-journalists-jail.php
CH:https://www.cpj.org/reports/prison_census2015-chinese.pdf

The CCP’s “positive energy” obsession
China Media Project, December 15, 2015
http://cmp.hku.hk/2015/12/15/39487/

Chinese military threatens BBC reporter flying over disputed South China Sea islands
The Independent, December 15, 2015
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/chinese-military-threatens-bbc-reporter-flying-over-disputed-south-china-sea-islands-a6773951.html

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Second interview with the Wenzhou pastor: After the demolition comes the “transformations”
China Change, December 15, 2015
http://chinachange.org/2015/12/15/second-interview-with-the-wenzhou-pastor-after-the-demolition-comes-the-transformations/

Government Accountability (政府问责)

中国82岁作家指称警方酷刑折磨 (82-year old Chinese writer claims to have been tortured by police)
Voice of America, December 15, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/voa-news-tie-liu-torture-20151215/3103515.html

Corruption behind accidents deserve harsher penalties: authority
Xinhua, December 15, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/15/c_134920095.htm

China military says “pathogen” of corruption persists in ranks
Reuters, December 15, 2015
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-corruption-military-idUSKBN0TZ0F120151216

Northern exposure: China names and shames provinces for fudging GDP
Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2015
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/12/15/northern-exposure-china-names-and-shames-provinces-for-fudging-gdp/

Chinese refugee arrested in Thailand, repatriation feared likely
Radio Free Asia, December 15, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-thailand-12152015164024.html

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

世界互联网大会:“保护外企权益 尊重网络主权” (World Internet Conference in China: “Protect foreign corporations’ rights, demand respect for cyber-sovereignty”)
Deutsche Welle, December 16, 2015
http://www.dw.com/zh/世界互联网大会保护外企权益-尊重网络主权/a-18920140

Related:
中国网络管治两极:催谷经济引擎 严控信息流动 (The two poles of China’s Internet governance: Boosting economic engine while blocking information flow)
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2015
http://www.nanzao.com/sc/national/151a9bd61364e56/zhong-guo-wang-luo-guan-zhi-liang-ji-cui-gu-jingji-yin-qing-yan-kong-xin-xi-liu-dong

Xi Defends China's Great Firewall in Push for “Cybersovereignty”
Bloomberg, December 16, 2015
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/china-s-xi-defends-web-controls-in-call-for-cybersovereignty-

China's 2nd World Internet Conference will focus on “rule of law”, but not free expression
Global Voices, December 15, 2015
https://advox.globalvoices.org/2015/12/15/chinas-2nd-world-internet-conference-will-focus-on-rule-of-law-but-not-free-expression/

Nonprofits want boycott of Chinese Internet summit
The Hill, December 14, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/263112-nonprofits-want-foreigners-to-boycott-chinese-internet-summit

The Chinese didn’t just hack federal employees. Journalists were swept up in the massive breach, too.
The Washington Post, December 14, 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/12/14/the-chinese-didnt-just-hack-federal-employees-journalists-were-swept-up-in-the-massive-breach-too/

Top of the world: 5 facts about China, the web and its global-leading 668 million online users
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/tech/article/1891736/top-world-5-facts-about-china-web-and-its-global-leading-668-million-online

Hong Kong (香港)

人类发展指数排名:香港12 中国90 (United Nations Human Development Report 2015: Hong Kong ranks 12th, China 90th)
Radio France Internationale, December 15, 2015
http://cn.rfi.fr/中国/20151215-人类发展指数排名:香港12-中国90

Related:
Human Development Report 2015
United Nations Development Programme
http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2015_human_development_report.pdf

Hong Kong police hunt “Black Bloc”: Anarchist gang blamed for Legco bin blast as officers throng complex before bill debate
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1891796/hong-kong-police-hunt-black-bloc-anarchist-gang-blamed

National Security & Counterterrorism (国家安全和反恐)

China urges U.S. cooperation to battle terrorism financing
Reuters, December 15, 2015
http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-china-usa-terrorism-idUSKBN0TY1GT20151215

China on IS threat: Could government launch anti-terrorism cooperative in absence of global unified force?
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1891720/shanghai-cooperation-organisation-forge-closer-economic